Carlsen "Deeply Disappointed" by FIDE

Magnus Carlsen has responded to FIDE's decision to award the world chess championship match between himself and Vishy Anand to the city of Chennai without a bidding process.

Writing on his Facebook page, Carlsen said he was "deeply disappointed and surprised by the FIDE decision", but that, "My team and I will now start preparing for the match".

So thankfully, it seems likely that the match will now go ahead.  Vishy Anand will defend his title against Magnus Carlsen in the city where he grew up, Chennai (formerly Madras), from 6-26 November 2013.

Full statement from Magnus Carlsen

After qualifying for the World Championship match by winning the London Candidates I have been highly motivated for, and looking forward to the World Championship match against reigning champion V. Anand.

I’m deeply disappointed and surprised by the FIDE decision to sign a contract for the 2013 match without going through the bidding process outlined in the WC regulations, and for not choosing neutral ground. The bid from Paris clearly showed that it would be possible to have more options to choose from.

The lack of transparency, predictability and fairness is unfortunate for chess as a sport and for chess players.

My team and I will now start preparing for the match. The main thing now will be to come to an agreement with the Indian Chess Federation and FIDE regarding terms and conditions before and during the match. I really hope this process will run quick and smoothly.

Lastly, I will not let the news from Baku diminish the joy and excitement derived from playing the top level Norway Chess tournament starting tomorrow.