Knockout, eh?
I personally think that the knockout in Khanty-Mansiysk is one of the worst high level tournaments that there is. Why are there 128 players? Here is the first round http://cup2007.fide.com/results.asp. Aside from a couple upsets, pretty much what you would expect. The higher seeds getting through easily. I know that they want to experiment with different formats than the double round robin, but I would still rather see just the top 16 players go at it.
That being said I am rooting heavily for Mamedyarov, who has captured my attention in the past year and has been playing very good chess. I think that Ivanchuk, who did have a spectacular year, has collapsed (look at his more recent results) and will go down easily in the next few rounds. Carlsen is getting better very quickly but I do not think this is his year. Of course Svidler, Grishy, and Aronian should never be counted out and Shirov had a good performance in the Tal Memorial (relative to Kramnik's sheer dominance of that tournament). Anyways, the later rounds should be interesting but until then this tournament sucks.
I almost forgot to congratulate Yuri Shulman (my old coach) for getting to the second round.
That being said I am rooting heavily for Mamedyarov, who has captured my attention in the past year and has been playing very good chess. I think that Ivanchuk, who did have a spectacular year, has collapsed (look at his more recent results) and will go down easily in the next few rounds. Carlsen is getting better very quickly but I do not think this is his year. Of course Svidler, Grishy, and Aronian should never be counted out and Shirov had a good performance in the Tal Memorial (relative to Kramnik's sheer dominance of that tournament). Anyways, the later rounds should be interesting but until then this tournament sucks.
I almost forgot to congratulate Yuri Shulman (my old coach) for getting to the second round.
Thanks man!
The possibility of upsets makes things exciting (one of the reasons why something like March Madness is so compelling, even without the gambling.)
Round-robins certainly have their place, and are better for determining the best player during the tournament. But it can't match the tension that a knockout tournament has!