Open letter from ACP to FIDE

Letter to FIDE President Kirsan N. Ilyumzhinov

#05-05/2009 – 19.05.2009

Dear Mr. President,

The Association of Chess Professionals expresses its deep concern about the female tournament calendar for year 2009. The new Grand Prix event series have been created this year, which is undoubtedly an excellent innovation in women chess. However, the first stage of the Grand Prix (Turkey, 5-20.03) clashed with the European Championship (Russia, 7-21.03). The second stage (China, 27.09-10.10) is scheduled for the same dates as the European Club Cup (Macedonia, 3-11.10).

Thus, professionals face a difficult choice now as they cannot participate in both major events. The organizers cannot count on strongest players’ participation. Since the calendar of female tournaments is not overloaded at the moment, and there are months that are free of female competitions, we kindly ask you to avoid a clash of major female competitions.

Best regards,
ACP Board