Hensel asks for disqualifying Topalov

Toiletgate is not over yet. Hell no. After some more serious Bulgarian allegations, Vladimir Kramnik and his manager Carsten Hensel had enough of it. Hensel has lodged a claim at FIDE, stating Topalov has been violating FIDE’s Code of Ethics, according to Sofia News Agency Novinite. Topalov’s potential punishment could involve a three year ban from professional chess.

First some updating of the events of last week: the manager of Veselin Topalov, Silvio Danailov, not only challenged the Kramnik team for a rematch. He also sent a bunch of ’suggestive’ photos to a number of chess journalists, that would ‘prove’ that Kramnik was getting information from outside, during his toilet visits in Elista. One of them shows a wrecked ceiling of a toilet with a wire hanging down. (Doh!) A cool reaction was Mig’s: “I bet you could smash your ceiling too and find all sorts of wires. If you can find a way to use them to play chess, let us know.”

Then there was the interview with Topalov in a Spanish newspaper, that contained some serious allegations, most importantly ‘Kramnik getting help by the KGB’. To cut the story short: the Bulgarians simply went over the edge this week. The Russian team is finally fed up with it and lodged a claim at FIDE, referring to their Code of Ethics.

This Code governs “what action may be taken against any person (meaning either an individual or organization) who deliberately or through gross negligence violate the rules and regulations of the game or neglect to observe the precepts of fair play.”

In his claim, Hensel is probably referring to

“2.2.9 Players or members of their delegations must not make unjustified accusations toward other players, officials or sponsors. All protests must be referred directly to the arbiter or the Technical Director of the tournament.”

and perhaps also

“2.2.4 Failure to comply with normally accepted standards of courtesy and chess etiquette. Misbehavior of a personal nature which is generally unacceptable by normal social standards.”

It could lead to a three-year ban for Topalov:

“3.2 Anyone acting in contravention of this code can be excluded from participation in all FIDE tournaments or from specific types of tournaments for a period of up to 3 years. Weight shall be given to the type of violation and to any previous violations in decided upon the length of the exclusion period.”

Meanwhile, Silvio Danailov has already reacted on Hensel’s claim: “The demand by Kramnik’s manager Carsten Hensel for disqualification of Veselin Topalov is another attempt at rejecting our invitation for a world chess championship title match in April next year in Sofia.â€?

And so we can finish this update on Toiletgate with that old classic: to be continued…