FIDE System Since 2006
Further information: World Chess Championship 2006, World Chess Championship 2007, World Chess Championship 2008, World Chess Championship 2010, World Chess Championship 2012, and World Chess Championship 2013The FIDE World Chess Championship 2006 reunification match between Topalov and Kramnik was held in late 2006. After much controversy, it was won by Kramnik. Kramnik thus became the first unified and undisputed World Chess Champion since Kasparov split from FIDE to form the PCA in 1993.
Kramnik played to defend his title at the World Chess Championship 2007 in Mexico. This was an 8-player double round robin tournament, the same format as was used for the FIDE World Chess Championship 2005. This tournament was won by Viswanathan Anand, thus making him the current World Chess Champion.
Because Anand's World Chess Champion title was won in a tournament rather than a match, a minority of commentators questioned the validity of his title. Kramnik also made ambiguous comments about the value of Anand's title, but did not claim the title himself.
Subsequent world championship matches returned to the format of a match between the champion and a challenger. The World Chess Championship 2008 was a 12-game match between the current champion Viswanathan Anand and 2006 champion Vladimir Kramnik. Anand convincingly defended his title in 11 games with 6½–4½. The World Chess Championship 2010 took place in April and May 2010, where Anand defeated 2005 FIDE champion Veselin Topalov (who defeated Chess World Cup 2007 winner Gata Kamsky in a match in February 2009 to determine Anand's challenger) to defend the title for the second time.
FIDE has announced that after that, there will be a championship cycle every two years, beginning with the World Chess Championship 2012. The first stage of 2012 qualification, the FIDE Grand Prix 2008–2010, began in April 2008. The final stage of qualification ended in May 2011, with Boris Gelfand emerging as the winner of the Candidates Tournament and the right to challenge Anand for the World Chess Championship 2012. Anand retained his title by beating Gelfand 2½–1½ in a four-game tie-breaker round, after the two ended the 12-game series level. Anand will defend his title in November 2013 in Chennai, India, against Magnus Carlsen, winner of the 2013 Candidates Tournament.
Read more about this topic: Development Of The World Chess Championship
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