Radjabov not invited, a SHAME ! he is number 4 in the world for a little while now ...

Andreikin is the Russian champ, he should be there as well

By the way, Gibraltar already has Ivanchuk and Kamsky, both rated above all but five players at Wijk. Wonder if they might go after some of the other higher-rated players that Wijk couldn't afford on that "smaller budget." Gibraltar does seem interested in competing with Wijk for the top talent.

The tournament's poster looks like a picture of a chess tournament in post-Sandy New Jersey.

I prefer to see Carlsen and by the way Kramnik and Radjabov did not much playing chess the last time. Anand Karjakin and Nakamura are no strong players? I don t understand this nr 1,2,5,6,7 of the world are playing here. What do people mean with no strong field? Football players that do not play for a long time for their club also will not be invited for the national team. Or maybe they did not wanted to play them self also this is possible. ( Kramnik and Radjabov )

Is Robin van Kampen currently Holland's biggest talent? I thought that was Anish Giri.

I miss Kramnik is that field and also Radjabov and Grischuk. Very interesting to see Hou Yifan in this top tournament. It will certainly be extremely tough for her, but also a big learning experience.

Sorry but Hou will finish last as the punching bag. She could have actually competed in group B. Would have liked to see Kramnik or Radjabov or Ivanchuk or even Gelfy or a resurgent topalov.

i doubt hou will really finish dead last and i'm glad she got the invite, hopefully this will only be the first of many such invites to come for her bc her games are often decisive and entertaining. I do agree that perhaps having so many "local" players is not so great from a typical fan's POV but indeed if the organizers wish to promote their own players, Bravo to them for showing such support. Radja definitely will be missed.

Wow, what a field to complain about! The first seven are top choices. The organizers did their budgeting in the second half of the field. That way Hou has a good chance to prove herself. I miss Ivanchuk, of course, but he probably enjoys Gibraltar too much to consider Wijk.

hard to top last tata's lineup which was truly very good, almost ideal. Radja's abscence must be a blow for the organizers, at the very least i would have expected Grischuck or Mamedyarov in his place. Hou's inclusion in the A group looks premature to me, almost forced. It's obvious they're looking for a new Judit but i dont see it happening, at least not right now

http://www.nrk.no/programmer/tv/tv-aksjonen/1.7840617

I will make one fearless prediction. The Anand-Leko game ends in a draw.

Really going out on a limb here.

Doesn't Radjabov usually avoid tournaments with Aronian in them or vice versa because of the tensions between their two countries?

Perhaps the line up is not to everyone's taste but as it is I'm happy that TATA managed to pay for at least 2 interesting tournaments again. I'll buy my steel and iron at their store this year and cross my fingers for the 2014 edition. Kudos to the organizers.

All this global crisis talk and as a result smaller budget is pretty silly. They simply didn't wish to spend more money on chess. For whatever the reason. They could have, but they didn't wish.

Tata is one of the largest steel companies in the world. Revenue in 2011: over 27 billion USD. Profit: 1.12 billion USD.

They could organize a whole World Championship cycle without blinking an eye. Organizing a Wijk tournament is pretty much peanuts for them. Half a peanut, to be precise. But nevertheless, it's still amazing that they continue to pay for all the fun. Just those excuses are silly.

As far as the players go... well pretty boring field. I like addition of Hou. Although maybe B would have been better for her. Other than her and the top 5 it's pretty boring stuff. B tournament lacks a lady. But Rapport and Dubov make things interesting.

it actually doesnt look that good tbh.. :(

and whats up with inviting Hou Yifan into every tournament.. I mean.. she is a strong player but.. seriosuly ???

if you want to invite a woman so badly just invite Queen Polgar...

im pretty disappointed ;(

All this talk about Judit, and she just posted this on Twitter...

CHESSBOXING! Shall I take this new sport, „the Bi-athlon of the 21st century” also by storm as woman? :)

Hm. Maybe a real "knockout" tournament?

yaaawn. the field is very interesting an versatile--especially in view of the limited budget--, and we're likely to witness a(nother) great tournament; but hey, some people can never be satisfied, right?! i wonder how many of you whiner princes spend _any_ money to support this two-week chess fans' treat in _any_ form...

Compared to the last few years this is a weaker line up and therefore dissapointing.

But hey, enough 26++ cannon fodder to be bashed by Aronian and Carlsen, so maybe we will see a +7 next year. xD

why is Pentala and Hou in the lineup?