Re: "Kasparov Retains Title on a Draw":

On Apr 24, 8:52=A0am, "parrthe...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
" <parrthe...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
>
> We all know that FIDE was founded in 1924 but did not take
> control of the title until after Alekhine's death in 1946.
>
> The USSR imposed the system for the world champion****p in 1948.
> The rules greatly favored Botvinnik who had draw odds from the start.

  On this matter I must basically agree with Parr. In his
autobiography, Botvinnik describes how he himself was the main author
of the regulations FIDE adopted for world champion****p matches and
challenger qualifying. I'm not sure whether they were then "imposed"
on FIDE, or FIDE just adopted them willingly, but either way Botvinnik
and his Soviet sup****ters got what they wanted.
  Besides the regulations for title competition after 1948, they also
got what they wanted for the 1948 match-tournament. For example
Najdorf was not invited after Fine declined to play. This gave the
Soviets a 3-to-2 majority among the 5 players (Botvinnik, Smyslov and
Keres vs. Reshevsky and Euwe), making collusion easier than if there
had been another non-Soviet.
  According to Bronstein, Najdorf was black-balled at Botvinnik's
personal insistence, out of spite for the way Najdorf drubbed him at
Groningen 1946.

> Apparently the rematch clause was added later at his behest.

  No "apparently" about it. It's a plain fact.