So you dont know who is the innocent second of the innocent?

Hauchard was never the second of Feller. Arnaud Hauchard was the second of innocent Vachier-Lagrave for some 7 years. Now mend it. :)

And they didn't want to play because . . . it's in the middle of nowhere. And, of course, tournaments have been held here before. What about sharing chess AROUND THE WORLD, eh?

Those players have oped out for medical reasons (broken leg, heart troubles).

It's not a matter of being able to afford it -- this is a tournament where even the players who lose in the 1st round get expenses paid and a fee. Other players just didn't qualify or didn't want to play.

The building looks pretty cool! Peter, will you be at the venue?

Thanks to Kirsan and Fide for offering us this great event!

The report says that the building is shaped as a chesspiece. Which one?
I hope for a great tournament and put my money on Svidler, he seems to be the man in good form

Your table showing the pairings has some of the names crossed (Wang Hao and Akopian for example). Why is that so? Have these players not shown up for the tournament? Or is it just a formatting issue?

Pairings are incorrect. Karjakin is playing IM Mejdi Kaabi from Tunisia and not Ding Liren.

Your list of participants is confusing. You show two columns of 64 players, but it's not the pairings for the first round. Which also explains Aingle Pack's comment.

That building reminds me of a Romulan Warbird from Star Trek for some reason. :)

I couldn't find it anywhere, but I guess the prize money (even the "appearance fee" for first-round losers) is sufficient that anyone can afford to participate. As to "more ... players": Given that it's a knockout event with seven rounds, it has room for 128 players, no more and no less.

Haha! Me too thought it is the Pairing. On a second thought, pairing is done that way right?

Surprised to see Karjakin and Ivanchuk playing, should be interesting.

I got a big shock when I saw these pairings. I think they copied the old chart. Chessvibes had the correct pairing in an earlier post. Anyway...

http://www.thechessdrum.net/blog/2011/08/25/2011-world-cup-khanty-mansiy...

OK... I was mistaken. I thought he posted the pairings in a much earlier post when pairings were changing. I thought they had changed again!!

I thought Giri would have replaced Akopian, but I suppose the FIDE rationale is that the two players would not have had enough time to prepare adequately. Not sure what the rules are for this.

Very strong field. I hope Chucky is in good shape.

Who is Feller´s second, the innocent Houchard?

Peter,
On a side note i thought you mentioned a Kramnik interview in the works.....is it in the pipeline ?

Yes... these are seedings, not pairings.

Good luck Mejdi Kaabi, and all the other 23/2400 elo players! Hope you'll be the next champion! I will learn a lot from you! Hope that I will compete with you in the next turn, if i will be good enough by then.

Anish Giri

We have to give credit to organizers and Fide for putting together a very nice web site for this tournament. The video coverage is great and we had lots of exciting games today. Take a look at the game between Brazilian GM Darcy Lima and Peter Svidler, just amazing!

I like the format of the World Cup. I don't think it is the right format to determine the world champion (because matches of only 2 games are just too short) but as a way of determining one of the candidates of the world championship I think it is fantastic. Khanty-Mansiysk is doing an excellent job of organizing and promoting our Royal game. I am well impressed by their efforts and hope they continue to organize tournaments like this one for years to come. My most sincere congratulations to Fide, Russia and Khanty-Mansiysk for putting this event together once more. I am not involved in chess politics but think the detractors of Fide should put their hate aside and recognize that Khanty-Mansiysk already has an honorable place in the rich history of our game.

I must say, from the pictures of the event and descriptions on chessbase, it looks like the RCF has done a fantastic job organizing this event. Definitely a win for FIDE (and us spectators).

My ex-Pupil Gopal is playing, wish him luck.. Rekthna will be happy !

"Each game will be played until sixty moves are completed, unless a decisive result is reached. The player who on the move brings about a repetition of the position immediately loses the game." No wonder chess has trouble finding corporate sponsorship.

There is no mention anywhere of the prizes.