FIDE is irrelevant. Who cares which organization chooses the
challengers, as long as the WC match takes place at traditional
time limits and is lengthy enough to provide a real test of the
respective strengths of the two players?

FIDE perhaps SHOULD be irrelevant, but as long as all the chess players
are going to follow them, FIDE is unfortunately NOT irrelevant.

As for "traditional time limits and lengthy enough to provide a real
test of the respective strengths of the two players", there is no fully
established standard for this. Note that even Kasparov/Kramnik was only
16 games, where the previous Kasparov/Karpov matches were 24 (not
counting of course the first 48 game marathon). In an age where faster
time controls are creeping into chess, what becomes "traditional time
limits" if the matches start also reflecting a creep in time controls?


Here's a question for you: do you think that Kasparov would now
be courting FIDE if he had beaten Kramnik? I don't think so.
Kasparov sees an easy way (he's spooked about Kramnik!) to regain
his title. He would like the world to forget Kramnik, just as he
preferred everyone to forget that Shirov should have had a match
before Kramnik, regardless of the monetary reward.

I absolutely agree. And if he beats Ponomariov, and negotiations for
the match between him and the winner of Kramnik/Leko fall through, I
think Kasparov will be happy to have FIDE behind him again to solidify
his claims that he is again "world champion". Will we all scream that
FIDE is irrelavent then?

John