Candidates Wildcard

Pretty weird and non logical, but it seems you are right.

"Average FIDE Rating List of the 12 monthly lists starting from 1st January 2015 to 1st December 2015 - Two (2) players qualify to participate by rating (excluding the players who qualify from articles 2.1, 2.2 and 2.3 above). A player can qualify by rating only if he/she participates in the World Cup 2015 or the FIDE Grand Prix 2014-2015. For the purpose of deciding the 2 rated player qualifiers, the average from the following twelve FIDE rating lists will be used: the sum of all 12 monthly lists starting from 1st January 2015 to 1st December 2015 divided by 12. A minimum of thirty (30) rated games in total is required for each player in the 12 monthly rating periods. In case of equality, two decimals will be taken into consideration. If the numbers are still equal then the total number of games in all 12 rating periods shall be decisive. That means the player with the greater number of games shall qualify"

You're right, but usa l'ironia next time!

I would like to see Aronian. Or So.

In a recent interview, Ilyumzhinov says that there's a 50% chance the next Candidates Tournament will be played in the United States. In addition to that, he confirmed that the next World Championship will be held in the US and said it may take place in New York, Chicago, or Los Angeles.

http://chess-news.ru/node/20200

If it's in the US then So is definitely likely. That would mean the US almost has a bloc of players (So, Caruana, Nakamura), potentially meaning they will all assist each other in securing an American challenger to Carlsen. Personally, I would love to see Nakamura win through. It would be an absolutely fascinating battle. 

You potentially have the same thing if Russia gets it, they likely pick Kramnik and they already have Karjakin and Svidler. I would love to see Svidler win it, but I'm not certain he's actually good enough.

Nakamura or Caruana

Nakamura and Caruana have already qualified, so it can't be them.

I heard somewhere that Baku, Azerbaijan were considering making a bid for it, and then holding a match between Mamedyarov and Radjabov to decide the wildcard spot. But this would mean them hosting the World Cup, that Mamedyarov-Radjabov match, the Candidates and then the Olympiad all in the space of 12 months. Crazy, wouldn't it be?

One thing is for sure, if it's held in Baku, Aronian will not be the wildcard (because of the ongoing political tensions between Azerbaijan and Armenia). I think Aronian can, on his day, be a formidable player (we saw in the Sinquefield Cup), so he would be a good addition to the pack. If America host it, Wesley So will almost definitely be in it (meaning three Americans in the pack), and if Russia host it, then who knows who they will put in (probably either Kramnik or Grischuk, but they could put in so many others.

Ding Liren hasn't played in too many high profile events, so I don't think he will get picked. MVL has played in many, but the only event I can remember him winning recently is Biel, so I'm not sure if he will get picked.

The location for the event will give a big clue, but it may not be certain when that comes out (in London 2013, the organisers put Radjabov in, when they could easily have chosen Michael Adams instead). Time will tell...

All we know for certain is that they must be rated at least 2725 (which means that Wei Yi could get picked?!).

I would like to see Aronian or So, but I doubt Ilyumzhinov will choose anyone but Kramnik.  He is almost 2800 on the live and besides, the canidates always needs more Russians .

If FIDE wanted to actually promote chess the smart choice would be Ding.

@ ThomasJEvans agreed Grischuk might be a good alternative to Kramnik.

I hope whomever is picked are a fighter and dynamic player who will help prevent a draw ridden event.

@fayfay1: Ilyumzhinov said that he wanted a Russian to be world champion once again, and he's supposed to be independent. I could go on and on about Ilyumzhinov, but I won't bother now :)

Grischuk didn't do too well at the World Cup, or the European Club Cup (but winning the World Blitz), whereas Kramnik did well in the ECC. So hasn't been in very good form lately (but leading Bilbao), Aronian's form is like a yo-yo, and Ding Liren has come into the top 10 largely under the radar.

@Candidate35: The Candidates tournament is supposed to find the player that is best to challenge for the World Championship title, and not to find the most entertaining player. It would be good to have someone like Wei Yi who plays fighting chess, the tournament would be more interesting, but it may not be fully serving its purpose.

Kramnik! Kramnik! Kramnik!

If it's supposed to find the best challenger for the world championship, it's hard to argue against Kramnik as the wildcard right now.

Right, but a wildcard is rarely who deserves it but who the sponsors want for whatever reasons. If it was who was best or most likely to win, requirements for who can be picked would be far more strict. It's called a wildcard after all.

"a wildcard is rarely who deserves it but who the sponsors want"

Yes, and also who deserves it changes every week. After Kramnik gained 19 points in the European Club Cup he passed Aronian on the rating list, but when the latter won Sinquefield Cup ahead of Carlsen et al it was he who deserved it most, and if So wins Bilbao maybe he will deserve it most this week.

Kamsky for wildcard number 8 spot!!!

Good point, fabelhaft. And then there's the London GP still to come, somebody completely different could win that. At present you couldn't really disagree with any of Kramnik, Aronian, Ding Liren, So as the wildcard. If MVL or Grischuk wins London you couldn't argue with them either.

@Jion_Wansu Kamsky doesn't have high enough rating.

As of today, Kramnik is ranked #4, according to www.2700chess.com . Aronian is slighly behind, but he would be my second choice.