| Chances are, your image of a chess tournament is | | | | including accusations about the use of |
| fairly unexciting: serious players staring thoughtfully at | | | | parapsychologists and yoga meditation experts in the |
| chessboards while before silent onlookers. But that | | | | audience to affect the minds of the players. The |
| image wouldn't hold up under a quick review of a few | | | | objections eventually took three years to resolve. |
| tournament chess facts from recent history. | | | | More recently, there was the 2006 World |
| For example, consider the "Argentine Massacre" of | | | | Championship match between Kramnik and Topalov, |
| 1955. At an Interzonal tournament in Gothenburg, three | | | | also known as "Toiletgate." The Topalov camp |
| Argentinian players developed a series of moves to | | | | accused Kramnik of receiving computer assistance |
| use against the otherwise dominant Russian players in | | | | during "excessive" bathroom visits. Kramnik claimed he |
| the tournament. Amazingly, all three Argentinian players | | | | simply liked to take walks during his matches and used |
| found themselves playing against the three Russian | | | | the bathroom as part of his walking area. But since the |
| players in round 14. Their maneuver worked, and all | | | | bathroom was the only place in the tournament building |
| three Russians seemed stuck at the same time. A half | | | | without video surveillance, Topalav claimed Kramnik |
| hour later, one of the Russian players figured out a | | | | might have been consulting computer assistance while |
| three-move combination that the Argentinians had not | | | | in the bathroom, and threatened to withdraw if private |
| anticipated. As soon as he played it, the others | | | | bathrooms were not replaced by a single community |
| followed suit, and soon the Russians had knocked out | | | | bathroom. The governing committee agreed and |
| all three Argentinians. | | | | granted the demand. Kramnik forfeited a game in |
| Perhaps the most bizarre set of circumstances in | | | | protest. Kramnik ended up winning the match, though |
| recent tournament chess history occurred during the | | | | the results remain controversial in the chess world. |
| 1978 World Championship between Karpov and | | | | With events like "Toiletgate" and the "Argentine |
| Korchnoi. First, there were complaints by Karpov about | | | | Massacre, " championship tournament chess has more |
| Korchnoi's mirrored sunglasses and special chair, which | | | | than its share of scandals. No matter what your image |
| had to be dismantled and examined by officials. Then, | | | | of chess might be, you will undoubtedly find something |
| game after game was riddled with by bizarre | | | | interesting and surprising when mining the world of |
| accusations by both players about their opponent's | | | | chess facts. |
| camps attempting to distract and disturb the players, | | | | |