World Chess Championship Unification Match, Elista 2006

The 2006 World Chess Championship was a unification match between Classical World Champion Vladimir Kramnik and FIDE World Champion Veselin Topalov, held in Elista, Kalmykia from 23 September to 13 October 2006. The match was marred by the "Toiletgate" scandal (Game 5), in which Topalov's team accused Kramnik of making excessive bathroom visits, suggesting computer-aided cheating. After the organizing committee locked Kramnik's private bathroom, Kramnik forfeited Game 5 in protest. Despite this controversy, Kramnik showed remarkable resilience and won the classical portion 6–6, then claimed the unified world title by winning the rapid tiebreak 2½–1½. Vladimir Kramnik became the reunified World Chess Champion, ending a decade-long split in the chess world.

Format

12 classical games + rapid tiebreak (4 games at 25 min + 10 sec increment) if tied after classical play

Preisgeld

€1,000,000 (€600,000 to winner, €400,000 to loser)

Austragungsort

Elista

Termine

23 September 2006 — 13 October 2006