Cool lattas!! I do not think that whoever wins this tournament will be able to beat anand or topalov.

Yes, the top-notch players have not joined... Too bad. I am looking forward to the London tournament. Nakamura will be one of my favorites in this event.

Several players who were invited (Carlsen, Kramnik, Nakamura...am I forgetting any others?) to participate in the World Cup had to decline because of a conflict with the London Chess Classic.

well without carlsen it does not mean much.He has earned the right to be in the world title cycle.

quick comments on pairing for round 1:

http://red-white-chess.blogspot.com/2009/11/world-cup-2009-1st-round-with-comments.html

The winner of World Chess Cup 2009, will participate with 7 other in a battle for a title game against Topalov or Anand.

The 8 will be:
Aronian + Radjabov or Grischuk (from Grand Prix)
Kamsky (lost against Topalov in 2009)
Carlsen and Kramnik (best rating between July 2009 and January 2010)
Loser between Topalov and Anand (in April?)
Winner of World Chess Cup (starting Saturday)
One player with more than 2700 in rating, pointed out by the organizers of the tournament.
14 rounds (I guess). Winner will fight against the winner between Topalov and Anand, some time in 2011. The winner will be World Champion 2011.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chess_World_Cup_2009