any site for participants and info ? thanks 
2011 World Cup
Sort:
Great prophecy master Iskuba :) Now were onto Round 2 :)
Good luck and God bless to our very own GM Wesley So he will be facing the top seeded GM Sergey Karjakin of Russia on round 2 after a hard fought battle on round 1 with GM Ding Liren of China which went on a tiebreak. Let us all hope for another upset victory in favor of GM Wesley So because he had proven many times that he can beat players with ELO of 2700+ wherein he will be near soon.
Wow Karjakin agad 
Let's pray for Wes..
I did not get to visit the forum. Medyo busy.
Anyway, after a positionally controversial first game and an uneventful second game against the Chinese champ, Ding Liren, that both ended in draws, Wesley showed his true form in the tiebreaker and annihilated the Chinese in the next two rapid games. Our kid was gracious enough to offer a draw in the 2nd encounter with a clearly won game, which of course Ding readily accepted. With the draw, Wesley advances to the second round.
In the important 1st tiebreaker, Ding reemployed his King's Indian defence because he got the best of Wesley in the first game. It created a big controversy in the CG page because everyone agreed that Wes was winning in that game especially because it appeared to them that Ding entered Wesley's prep. As per Pulsar's kibitz, they were right to assume it because Wesley played thru the opening in blitz mode. I came late and just went thru the game later on and what I saw, in my view, was a bad positional judgement by Wesley. I thought it was the kind of game where you feel you have an advantage but all lines of continuation seem to be troublesome. And it was confirmed by Wesley's actions when he played d6 and forced an exchange of queens and thereby ending the game peacefully. Pulsar's take that it may have been a case of improper prep could've been the reason. I was adamant that Wes should not use that line against the KID again. That was not his style because it was too insecure and defensive-oriented. Well, I like to think that he listened to my advice because he used the more aggressive Saemisch line this time which transposed to I don't know what the heck it was! Ding played the rare ...e6?! and they were on their own soon enough. In the second tiebreaker, Wes was solid as a rock. It was in the bag pretty early.
It's Karjak time! Everyone seems to think that Wesley does not stand a Chinaman's chance
against the Russian opponent. For those few who believe that Wes will win, it's mostly out of faith and pride. I, on the other hand, knows that Wesley stands a good chance in advancing to the third round. Here are the reasons why:
Sergei Karjakin 2788
The rating is scary, right? His rating jumped so high in the last release because of his success in recent tournaments. IMO, in those successes, the tournament favorites did not play according to their strength, but kudos to Sergei, he surprised them. In his most recent tournament, the Russian Super Finals, he played his regular game and his result was okay---2 wins, 1 loss, 4 draws. Svidler won the Russian ch. His first round here in WC, he played against the lowest seed, and if you look at the games, there was a reason why he was the lowest seed. I am old, retired and unrated, but I would have put up a better fight, blindfolded and taking a shot of scotch after every move!
What that means is, Karjak's level of play is at a low right now. Best time to take him down! I would assess his playing strength right now at around 2730.
Wesley So 2658
We all know that his current rating is not his playing strength. It's due to all those bad results that were caused by scores of things in the past. And those were in the past. HIs last tourney was the dominance of the BOGM. He had a long rest after that. Plenty of time to train and prep for this. He played against the strongest opponent in the WC in the first round. Talk about warm-up, it doesn't get any better than that! Wesley always plays strongly early in the tournament. I would assess his playing strength right now at around 2715
It is my view that this is a pretty even match. But because of the intangibles, I predict that Wesley will advance!!! 
Sergey Karjakin 1/2 - Wesley So 1/2
Tabladingding! Wes used his favorite, the French defense, against Karjak's e4 opening. I came late, as usual, and witnessed when Wes played 21... gxf6! instead of Nxf6 which was the engine's recommendation. It showed that Wes was trying to get the win with that daring move. He was trying to maintain a strong group of center pawns. His king walk to the center also showed that he had complete command of the position. Sergey sensed this and made the draw offer at the right moment. With time not on his side, and with a very long battle ahead, Wesley correctly accepted the offer so he can get ready for the battle tomorrow, this time with the white pieces.
It was clear to me that Wesley was the stronger player in that game. Like I said, this match is pretty even. As long as Wesley comes away from the opening unscathed, he will always be a dangerous opponent against anyone!
Good job, kid.
Another draw in the 2nd game! Talagang even ang match na ito. It seemed like they replayed the flow of the game yesterday. Wes was in total control of his position and very solid in his approach. He had a slight positional advantage when the game transitioned into the endgame, much like what happened yesterday. As usual, Karjakin knows when to offer. A slight delay in the timing of the draw offer and things could end up in a firefight.
Sergey is very good in fast games. Of course, with his experience, he knows very well not to experiment in the opening in the coming important games. That was the weakness of Wes in the past... wrong choices at the wrong moment. I see a more mature player in Wes right now. I hope he continues to play his trusted openings in these tiebreakers and let his skills do the talking.
People will be surprised if Wes eliminates Karjak tomorrow. On the other hand, I am going to be a bit surprised if Wes loses the match tomorrow because I feel that his chances went up a bit in the tiebreaker with the way that he is playing right now. I am expecting a third rounder for Wesley!
Good luck, kid.
Yep yep nice predictions eh ?? anyways, Let's still pray for Wesley !
Ang ganda ng mga ibinahagi ninyong mga punto de vista Master Iskuba. Naniniwala ako sa kakayahan at magandang nilalaro ni Wesley sa ngayon. Mukhang unti-unti na nga siyang nahihinog. Sa tingin ko Sergey will get a "Karjak arrest" after the tie break.
Hahaha, ubos tayo sa Karjak arrest! Sana nga mag daliring anghel ka, Chanand, para tuloy ang ligaya natin sa World Cup.
Sa mga ibang laro naman ay impressed ako sa performance ni Morozevich. Mukhang naka-recover na si Moro sa burn out na aking palagay na ikinababa ng kanyang rating at performance last year. Si Grischuk naman na akala ko ay magpapausok dito sa WC ay kasulukuyang pinahihirapan ni Feller at tiebreaker din sila bukas. Ivanchuk looks serene this time at pasok na rin sa next round. We'll have a clearer picture after the next round.
No more 3rd round for us at the World Cup. I'm sad but I'm proud. Thank you GM Wesley So for putting up a good fight.
Wesley loses match against Karjakin!
It was a very difficult task. Wes tried to score the biggest upset of the games but the Russian prevailed. The first tiebreaker game was drawn, indicating yet again how evenly matched the protagonists were. The second rapid tiebreaker was a whole different story from the previous three.
Remember when I said that Wesley made wrong choices in the past? Well, like Britney says, he did it again! He had no business using the Caro-Kann in this very important game! There were only two choices for him. Either he plays his most trusted defense, which is the French, or the most sound defense against e4, which happens to suit his style a lot, the Sicilian! He had successes in both openings in recent past. What was he thinking??
Wesley just gave the initiative to Karjak every step of the way. The game was so different from the others that you might think you may be watching a different pairing. The endgame play was ridiculously horrible! The Russian didn't have to do much. It's as if Wesley was trying hard to lose in the fastest way possible! And that's why the endgame was bad because his style did not agree with the opening. His current mood wanted something active, not passive! He was lost in his own scheme. Unbelievable! I don't know what else to say.
It was still a valiant effort. Nothing to be ashamed of. Wesley was a bit ahead against Karjakin in the regular games. That says a lot about Wesley's playing strength right now. Making the right choices... lots of improvement needed there. There were a lot of positives in this match. Just build on it and keep making improvements.
On to the next battle. We are proud of you, kid! :)
but Wesley continues to be left behind by his contemporaries (Giri, Le, and now even Ding who has a higher rating than him).
He needs to change a few things, and fast.
I'm going to take a wild guess on who will make the Fnal Four!
Karjakin
Grischuk
Radjabov
Le
Go and make yours!
Judith Polgar cracks Sergey Karjakin! Judith only needs to draw tomorrow's game and she advances to the next round. That shouldn't be too hard. Karjak could be sent home early. Of the four that I picked to make the semi-finals, only Grischuk seems to be a shoo-in to advance right now. He beat the hot Morozevich. Radja drew his game against Bacrot of France while Le was held to a draw by the Cuban, Bruzon.
The four games against Wesley may have taken its toll on Karjakin. 
haha. as you said sir iskuba ! Wes cause a lot of brain damage to karjak
Karjak is out! Hahaha, Susan always have an affinity for Wesley. With her sister's surprise advance, she must be fond of Wesley even more now! Judith is in great form.
My other two picks, Grischuk and Radjabov have advanced, too. Le has to play the tiebreaker tomorrow.
A big hurrah for Ivanchuk, though. He was on a do or die game against the Israeli, Sutovsky. He employed the Modern Defense and was successful mainly because Emil obliged him. All Emil needed was a draw but he engaged Vasha in an all or nothing tactical mayhem. He could have ended up with an advantage but he got lost in the chaos. His king ended up on Chucky's backrank and was about to be mated in several moves when he raised the white flag. He can redeem himself in the tiebreaker.
Judith will meet the Cuban, Dominguez, in the round of 16. Both are playing really well. I hope Miss Polgar advances further.
WORLD CUP SWEET SIXTEEN!
Judith Polgar - the lone woman in the bunch eliiminated the top seed, Karjakin.
Vassily Ivanchuk - amazing comeback against Sutovsky after losing first game.
Yaroslav Zherebukh - scored the biggest upset of the cup by ousting Mamedyarov.
Ruslan Ponomariov - one of the most consistent among the elite.
Vugar Gashimov - dangerously lurking about while disposing his opponents soundly.
Alexander Grischuk - the favorite to win it all. He ousted the steaming Moro.
Teimour Radjabov - a notorious under-achiever. Is he for real this time?
Gata Kamsky - IMO, the greatest over-achiever of them all. Go Gata!
Peter Svidler - the Russian champion is always a dangerous opponent.
Dmitry Jakovenko - very solid and capable of beating anyone.
Vladimir Potkin - the sleeper. Can he pull a surprise against Grischuk?
Peter Nielsen - can give Gashimov a scare in the next round.
Batista Bruzon - the unknown. He eliminated Le.
David Navarra - he beat Moiseenko after 4 tiebreakers.
Xiangzhi Bu - the lone Chinese rep remaining. He faces the Chuckster next.
Leinier Dominguez - I thought he won both games against Lysyj but I was wrong. He still managed to win the match after seven tiebreakers!! Does he still have juice to mix it up against Judith?
Please Sign Up to comment.
If you need help, please contact our Help and Support team.
Not the blade runner version!
All and everything about the coming World Cup on the 28th of August are welcome here. Predictions, opinions, analysis, anything goes. You can start with your predictions. Let's go.
I'll start by predicting that our very own Wesley So will advance to the second round by beating Ding Liren of China! Maybe after seeing some of the early games, I will make my prediction on who could win the whole thing.