FIDE World Chess Championship 1999 - Controversy and Non-participants

Controversy and Non-participants

In addition to Karpov, neither Garry Kasparov nor Viswanathan Anand took part. Kasparov, holder of a rival world championship title, refused to play in any of the FIDE knockout championships, and Anand was negotiating to play a match against Kasparov for his title. (This match never took place - see Classical World Chess Championship 2000).

Only three players in the top fifteen reached the quarterfinals and by the semifinals most of the favourites had been eliminated. Kasparov called three of the quarterfinalists "tourists", perhaps intending only to reflect the surprising results of the earlier rounds, but the remark raised some controversy.

Winner Khalifman was rated 44th in the world at the time, which some compared unfavourably to PCA champion Kasparov being rated #1. Khalifman said after the tournament, "Rating system works perfectly for players who play only in round robin closed events. I think most of them are overrated. Organizers invite same people over and over because they have the same rating and their rating stays high." Perhaps in response, Khalifman was invited to the next Linares chess tournament, and performed creditably (though placing below joint winner Kasparov).