Self-correction: there are TWO players in the FIDE top 100 list, Onischuk and Harikrishna. My basic point still stands.

Stefansson vs Becerra-Rivero was a 10 move draw

Great fighting tournament!

San Antonio was definitely category 12. Mechanics Institute had a strong category 12 less than 10 years ago. So did Chess in the Schools in NY about 7 years ago. I don't believe the US even had a category 13 or 14 before.

I don't think the organizer claimed it's the strongest ever. That's subjective. I did a quick search on Polgar blog and this came up:

http://susanpolgar.blogspot.com/2008/08/2008-spice-cup.html

"This will make the 2008 SPICE Cup the highest rated 10 person International RR event in U.S. history."

@ Michel83

My comment was aimed at this guy "Jericho on 23 September 2008 16:12 PM What a bland lineup."

As per the false advertising... I don't know why anyone still expects the truth from Truong.

I disagree! Kritz, Onischuk and Akobian are always a good show.

@ CAL Daniel

Nobody (I think) is saying those are not strong players or that it is not a good show- it IS a nice tournament with a good line-up (Pentala, Akobian, Onischuk- for a patzer like me that's players I can learn a lot from).
It was just mentioned that the sponsors are maybe doing a little bit of exagerated publicity here if they praise this tournament THAT much, considered that there is no 2700+ player- it's a nice tournament but there's "better".
And the other thing mentioned was that the claim that it is the strongest tournament on american ground ever is simply factually wrong.

Bottom line: there is only one player in the FIDE top 100 list.

Susan Polgar, as usual, is better at publicizing herself than at telling the truth.

@ semipatz

Although you have to admit she is quite good at it... ;)

Still, I think it is not a bad line-up, it's a nice tournament; it's only that other tournaments have a similary nice line-up. But they don't have Susan Polgar making the advertisement. :D

What a bland lineup.

Cambridge Springs in 1904 had 7 of the world's top ten players in its 16 player round robin, including world champion Lasker - this has 0 of the world's top ten. Neither tournament is all-American. In fact, I'm not sure there is a native American GM (maybe Eugene Perelshteyn?) in this one.

San Antonio, Texas (same state as this event) had a 16-player round robin in 1972 with the likes of Portisch, Petrosian, Karpov, Gligoric, Keres, Browne, Larsen, and Mecking (with Fischer in the audience).

I would say that the US Championships of the 1990s were stronger, though I don't know the precise FIDE ratings of the players.

http://www.uschess.org/msa/MbrDtlTnmtHst.php?12543746 lists the tournaments Kaidanov played in which is most of those round robins - they seem to be stronger, but hard to quantify.

Bottom line, the sponsors might be right if they don't adjust for rating inflation, and even then I have high doubts. If you do adjust and look at the participant's strength compared to the rest of the world/nation, the claim would be absurd.