THE world chess federation (FIDE) hasn’t had much good publicity lately, and it only got worse last month when an obscure Uzbek player won its championship – and was ignored in the aftermath of Bobby Fischer’s arrest in Japan.

FIDE took a lot of flak after it agreed to hold its 128-player championship tournament in Tripoli, Libya, over the objection of Israeli players.

But FIDE hoped this would all be forgotten once the tournament produced a winner – who would then advance to the next stage in an elaborate effort to create an “undisputed world champion.”

The Tripoli winner was to hold the title of “FIDE world champion” until he plays a big-bucks match, expected later this year, with Garry Kasparov. Then, in 2005, the winner of that match would then meet the winner of a rival championship, sponsored by a Swiss cigar firm this fall, for the “undisputed” title.

Had Michael Adams of Britain won the Libya tournament, there would likely have been no problem in raising a million-dollar-plus prize fund for a Kasparov-Adams match. But that plan was put in doubt when Rustam Kasimdzhanov, a little known GM from Central Asia, upset Adams in the Tripoli finals.

That leaves FIDE trying to arrange a match between Kasparov and “Rustam Who?”.