Nakamura vs Ponomariov

match announcement

Who will win, Nakamura (2774) vs Ponomariov (2743)?

How about for Korchnoi (2553 at 80 yo) vs Finegold (2494 and 42 yo)?

I believe Korchnoi will win his match easily. I think the other match will be very close but have to go with Pono , given his match experience. 

Id say Naka is the favorite vs Pono. Hes been playing very well and ever since hes started taking the game more seriously hes simply gotten better. Not that Pono can be counted out either though, hes not overly predictable in my opinion and played excellently in the Russian Team Championships recently, but I feel Naka is quite simply the favorite. 

Between Korchnoi and Finegold Im not so sure. I feel recently Korchnoi has been having a really tough time and his health is not the best at the moment, but on the other hand he played very well in Gibraltar and is still fighting. In my personal opinion the match will only really be a question of Korchnois health during those 2 weeks, he may lose horribly or win decisively or have a heart attack, anything is possible. Finegold cant do much more than play and hope he doesnt meet the Korchnoi of old.

So all in all my verdict:

Naka beats Pono in a close but clear match

Finegold beats a Korchnoi in weakened state (possibly towards the end of the match)

I hope they're giving Korchnoi the royal treatment.  Despite being a curmudgeon, he deserves alot of respect for all of his accomplishments.

Korchnoi on Kasparov from the e3 e5 interview

"There are not too many people, who are interested in chess, and a million people at most were applauding to Kasparov. While it’s possible to have much more people clapping in politics. That’s why he settled for politics." - Mr. Kasparov, you have been Korchnoi'ed!