Apart from the rating I think is impossible to define the ever"Good/Right" system,
so analyzing all the drawbacks of the pool system might be quite pointless,
unless the case that the organization had alredy a chosen candidate, and
support it behind the scene with some kind of a lobby of many voters,
in that case maybe it would be easier to invite him at once! Otherwise if someone has more friends on facebook is simply part of the game, the interesting thing is that we, chessplayers-chessfans, can feel being at least little bit, part of the process...
... ok and if the winner of the pool will decline the invitation? :D

Why no Morozevich

why no Wojtaszek.. -.-

well, I guess my vote for Shirov then

"it's not completely clear whether the RCF poll is a fair and good system to invite a player"
What would be a fair and good system - not just for this spot, but also for those decided by the organizers? The only alternatives I could imagine are
- a Swiss qualifying event ("Dortmund-style")
- contact all chess clubs, probably just Russian ones, and let their members vote.

"not all Russian chess fans visit their [the RCF] website, or have access to internet between now and March 15th, or not at all"
That's why it's mentioned at other sites, even here (not specifically catering to a Russian audience) and probably also at some Russian chess forums [mishanp, can you confirm this?]. And those who don't have access to the Internet also won't follow the games on the Internet ... .

Bottom line: Any new idea (as well as 'old' ideas) has its drawbacks, but I agree with vhomas topalov that it's pointless to analyze and emphasize them (without making a better suggestion!).
The only real drawback might be the list of pre-selected players - for example if Sutovsky is pre-selected, then why not Naiditsch, Vallejo or Vachier-Lagrave (my list is still incomplete)? But maybe the organizers want to avoid a player whom they don't like themselves - probably not the case for the names I give, but Topalov might be missing for a reason ... .

Hou is overestimated, this was her latest round robin against men:

http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chess.pl?tid=75169

Her last result was great but the one above was more "normal" for her when facing much stronger opponents. She doesn't belong in the Tal Memorial but will probably win the vote and maybe it will even be fun to follow her games.

CV: do you have any information on how the players in the list have been selected? I mean, apart from excluding the players who they have already invited or who have already declined the invitation, are other criteria known?

Population of China: 1,347,350,000
Population of the Netherlands: 16,725,902

Giri doesn't stand a chance.

Now I have to use some hacking skills to see Gata Kamsky in this tournament.

Hou Yifan would be nice to see! She's definitely has a real chance of doing well! :D

At this very moment, it seems that this Russian attempt at democracy is meeting a Vietnamese version of "regulated democracy". Votes for Le are pouring in at an astonishing speed.

Given the current levels of Yifansanity sweeping the globe, I predict a landslide win for Hou,

Ok, so what is the guarantee that the player who wins the vote and be invited will accept the invitation?

Having said that I think the voting system is fine. It just selects one player. If the organizer did not have this voting system but instead just invited one of the thirteen, I dont think there would have been any complaints. At least here, it brings in some element of a fan's choice. And unless you give it a try and see how it works how would you know how good it is.

I would like to see Luce Mcshane play

that's a point: has anyone contacted McShane about his avail­a­bi­lity? He had to pass Corus A this year... Of course it won't be a big issue since he has no chance to win the poll anyway...

By the time I voted, Le Quang Liem was ahead over Mc Shane with almost 700 votes. Seems to be a really big difference. I don't think Vietnam is such a big country. I think, by now, that most of the people here are overreacting about the pole. This should not be analyzed that hard. Is such a curious way to decide the last player. And that's all. I think ChessVibes wrongly put the attencion over the strategy to decide a player. This is not so important; is just marketing. And an interesting.

Anyway, a good player will be chosen. Because on the list there are no bad player, I believe. All good attempts. So, relax and enjoy. The method is a nice one; you don't have to scrutinize it so bad.

I have been promoting Hou Yifan's invitation to a top tournament in my previous posts here; so, I am glad to see her name as I believe her possible participation in Tal Memorial will bring about a nice sensation in the chess world - Yet! In a world where Yao Ming has been selected as an all star for many times, I don't think that it is really fair to have a poll! Nevertheless my heart is with Hou Yifan, if she is chosen.

Luke McShane is quickly closing the gap on Le, he is now 300 odd votes behind. Would love to see Luke "Skywalker" McShane battle the top guns in chess.

The rule should be simple: "Only one vote per person –IP+MAC address ( I don’t think this is being controlled as I voted twice: One for Sutovsky and one for Jobava); votes for the same national from where you are voting should be forbidden (u should vote for a non compatriot player). We all know what happens when China or India are involved in global polls

Wait till Hou Yifan gets the entire Chinese population going !!

I won't vote for McShane b/c he worked for Goldman Sachs. :) Hou Yifan all the way.

Quang Liem is the best choice. Good luck!

I hope Quang Liem has a place there, though his recent results are not so impressed

Oops, Le Quang Liem voters got a little over "enthusiastic" and he seems to have been dropped from the race. I don't know... on the one hand, people definitely were voting multiple times (techniques for how to do it were being discussed on at least one Vietnamese forum), but on the other hand, it's just the nature of such votes. e.g. 100,000 "signatures" were recently collected to have a debate in the UK parliament: http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2011/08/22/hillsborough-files-e-peti_n_9...

It's an excellent cause, but even though you had to register and even give a postal address almost all of the signatures were collected in a couple of days and forums were full of advice on how to do it multiple times or sign even if you weren't from the UK.