Caruana, So, Naka and Kamsky would make a great team that would be competitive. But Russia, Armenia, Ukraine, and China all have teams that are deeper than anything the US can post, and just about as strong.
Still, it'd be fun to see how well our team could compete against the best with that line up.
Caruana, So, Naka and Kamsky would make a great team that would be competitive. But Russia, Armenia, Ukraine, and China all have teams that are deeper than anything the US can post, and just about as strong.
Armenia? Aronian is fading and not in the class of Caruana, Nakamura and So anymore. Apart from him they have strong players, but not clearly superior to what the US has:
http://ratings.fide.com/topfed.phtml?ina=1&country=USA
http://ratings.fide.com/topfed.phtml?ina=1&country=ARM
Apparently Kamsky has said no more Olympiads for him. Daniel Naroditsky at 2650-ish seems like a good choice.
Wow. Looks like he will be playing for the US.
http://www.uschess.org/content/view/13060/141/
I'm curious - does that mean he will actually be living here?
Apparently Kamsky has said no more Olympiads for him. Daniel Naroditsky at 2650-ish seems like a good choice.
We have some good young talents that could be much stronger by the next Olympiad.
Would be a very competitive team.
Everyone can decide for which Country he likes to play.
Chessbase just ran a bunch of simulations, with Caruana being the favorite to win the Candidates.
I don't quite see it that way. I think Nakamura has the best chance, with Giri and Aronian vying for first. Of course, Caruana has to be one of the favorites too. In fact the field is so evenly matched that everyone has a real chance!
Everyone can decide for which Country he likes to play.
Can you choose to play not for a country then and just for yourself?
Starrynight, that is actually a difficult question. FIDE is actually a coalition of national federations. There have been players who have been barred by their national federations for political or personal reasons who then had to find another nation to sponsor their applications for titles.
The answer for now seems to be no. If you want a title (FM, IM, GM and so on), then you need a national federation to sponsor you, or you need some sort of special exception made by FIDE.
The national federations decide what is required for membership, including fees or activities that players must perform in order to remain in that federation's good graces.
With 2 of the world's top 10 and 3 if Caruana switches, plus Kamsky and Shankland, who had a stellar performance against top international competition in his last tournament (though I wish he had not beaten Judit Polgar for her last game before retirement)...the US only needs one more "money" player to have a perfectly viable shot at gold.
P.S. Nakamura will be passing Caruana on the ratings list if he has 1 more good tournament. Don't discount him (funny to see people dismissing #3 in the world as an also-ran)...the arrival of Wesley So on the US scene seems to have lit a fire under him.