FIDE World Chess Championship Pairings Posted!!

Excitement is brewing as the World Chess Championship (WCC) is set in historic Moscow for the 27th of November. Most of the world's strongest players have qualified to vie for the title. India's GM Viswanathan Anand stands as the tournament's number one seed with a 2797 rating.  As 128 players will be fighting hard to get to the next round, the following African contingent of six players will contend: GM Hichem Hamdouchi (Morocco), IM Watu Kobese (South Africa), IM Amon Simutowe (Zambia), IM Fouad El Taher (Egypt), IM Slim Belkhodja (Tunisia), IM Aimen Rizouk (Algeria).

Participants of the Wilbert Paige tournament this past summer, both IM Kobese of South Africa (now a three-time WCC candidate) and IM Simutowe of Zambia (now a two-time WCC candidate) will draw tough assignments in their 1st encounters. IM Kobese (2373) plays the resourceful GM Peter Leko (2730) of Hungary while IM Simutowe (2462) plays the tough Israeli in GM Ilya Smirin (2702).  A win by either player will set of quite a reaction! Certainly with the number of chess sites around the world, there will be ample opportunities to follow the action closely. Stay tuned for future updates!

v 7 November 2001