Sergey Karjakin, the challenger for Magnus Carlsen’s world title later this year, has announced in Bilbao, where he is contesting an elite tournament, that he wants to launch his challenge ‘anywhere but the USA!’ His stance poses an awkward problem for the World Chess Federation, which does not seem to have even contemplated an alternative venue, though no final arrangements have yet been announced.
Disagreements over world championship venues have bedevilled former contests, and although we do not know the precise reason for Karjakin’s complaint, once one of the two protagonists digs in his heels it can be hard to shift them.
So I propose that it is high time London hosted a world championship match. The most recent was Kasparov-Kramnik back in 2000. Since then, London has been mooted as host city but negotiations with World Chess Federation president Kirsan Ilumzinov fell through.
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