Looking for Love in all the wrong places

     The leader of Libya, Mummar Qaddafi has pledged 1.6 million dollars and will sponsor the next FIDE 128 player Knockout Championship in Tripoli later this year.
   

You gotta keep on looking now
Keep on looking now
You're looking for love
In all the 
wrong places

 

       If the above article isn’t reason enough to go back to the old style world championship process, I don’t know what is. We need to go back to the zonal tournaments, interzonal tournaments, and candidate matches culminating into the World Championship Match.   I’ve already addressed the problems with the FIDE Knockout World Championship. FIDE should break up  and open up this process so that more sponsors can bid. Spread this process and the cost  over time and geography.   Spread the chess love around.  Allow cities or countries with up and coming chess talent to host a part of this process.  Allow the local people to root for their homeboys and homegirls and see some of the international chess stars. 

   
A good World Championship process is like a fine wine; let more people take a sip. Spreading the process over time and geography will bring more young fans and media coverage into this great game.  In the long run, more money will be raised for these events. FIDE, break the process up. Open it up.  Make the process more affordable for sponsors around the world. Showcase your great talent around the world. A properly run World Championship process is the Crown Jewel of Chess.  The process needs to enrich the players, promote the game around the world,  introduce new fans to this great game, and finally to find a worthy proud World Champion.
    

   

Where your walk it's always shadow
Conversation always shallow
When they talk they never look you in the eye
They look over your shoulder
To faces even colder
And you feel a little older
Every time
You're looking for love
In all the wrong places

 2/17/2004  

hg