Russia's Kramnik agrees to resume chess unification match against Bulgaria's Topalov

Classical World Champion Vladimir Kramnik accepted the World Chess Federation ruling and agreed to resume the chess unification match with World Chess Champion Veselin Topalov on Monday at 3-2 in his favor.

Photo: Russia's Kramnik agrees to resume chess unification match against Bulgaria's Topalov

Russia's Kramnik agrees to resume chess unification match against Bulgaria's Topalov

"I came to the conclusion of proceeding under protest because I do not want to disappoint the overwhelming majority of chess fans," Kramnik said in a statement before starting game six.

The future of the match had been in question since Friday, when Kramnik boycotted game five, angered by an Appeals Committee decision to lock the private bathrooms for both players and insist that each use a common bathroom for the rest of the match a tacit accusation that Kramnik, a Russian, was using bathroom breaks to cheat.

Kramnik, who suffers from rheumatoid arthritis, insisted he needed more space to walk while in the rest and rejuvenation room and accused the appeals committee of acting in the Bulgarian Topalov's favor.

After numerous rounds of talks, the entire committee resigned Sunday and an agreement was reached that the rest rooms would be assigned to each player on a permanent basis and would be inspected by the opposite side ahead of each game.

But the main issue, about the scoring in the match, had remained unsettled.

The Topalov team insisted that the forfeit point in game five to be retained while Kramnik, backed by the Russian Chess federation, persisted in demanding the resumption of the match with 3-1 scoring since his demands had been met and complaints justified.

After consulting with lawyers, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, the president of the World Chess Federation known by its French acronym FIDE had announced his decision that the match to be resumed Monday with game six to be played at the score of 3-2 in Kramnik's favor.

"Both grandmasters must put aside their ambitions and resume the match," Ilyumzhinov said, reports AP.

"By deciding just a couple of hours ago I had to make a calculation between my personal interests and the entire chess world," Kramnik said. "It's very difficult to play under these circumstances," Kramnik said in the statement.

Topalov is playing with the White pieces in the sixth game.

""I'm looking forward (to the game)," Topalov said. "I'm already tired of resting. It's big relief for me that the match will resume and the chess world will enjoy great play."