Elite Players Of Chess To Compete
A world chess championship tournament in September will have most of the world's elite players, including, for the first time, a woman.
The World Chess Federation announced on Sunday the eight players who will compete for its world championship in San Luis, Argentina. They include Viswanathan Anand of India, the No. 1 player in the world since the retirement of Garry Kasparov this year; Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria, who is ranked No. 2; Peter Leko of Hungary, No. 3; Rustam Kasimdzhanov of Uzbekistan, No. 32, who is the current champion by virtue of having won the federation's elimination tournament last year; and Judit Polgar of Hungary, No. 7.
The tournament has a prize fund of $1 million, with $300,000 going to the winner.
Ms. Polgar, the only woman ranked among the top 100 players in the world, is generally acknowledged to be the best female player in history. She will be the first woman to take part in an invitation-only tournament for the world championship.
Among the players not competing in the tournament is Vladimir Kramnik of Russia, who calls himself the world champion and who is ranked No. 4. He was invited but declined.
The world championship has been split since 1993 when Mr. Kasparov, then the undisputed champion, broke from the federation. Mr. Kramnik defeated Mr. Kasparov in 2000 and defended his title by drawing a match with Mr. Leko last year.