In article , says...
Not sure why people think FIDE should just replace Pono with a
randomly-selected player - where's the legitamacy in that? At least
Ivanchuk was the runner-up in the last FIDE WC cycle, so there would be
some point in selecting him if you were going to pick someone.
Fischer? Not going to happen - he wants nothing to do with the "old
chess" anymore, never mind FIDE, or Kasparov (who, according to Fischer,
owes him millions of dollars - of course he's wrong). Anand? I
understand the sentiment, and he has the rating, but he still needs to
prove it in the WC cycle. Polgar? Sure, a neat little marketing ploy,
but she is NOT a legitamite challenger based on rating or performance in
the WC cycle. Should we have the NBA winner play the WNBA winner to
determine the overal NBA championship?


"she is NOT a legitimate challenger based on rating or performance in
the WC cycle." This commment is debatable because JPolgar got "knocked"
out of the last cycle...which coincidentally was a "knockout" event.
Something I don't agree with. She has the stamina to play in round robin
events and that would be a more suitable way to determine the character
of the title challenger and eventually the next World Champion. She can
lose in rounds but make up for them in later play. This is the way the
old greats played like Lasker, Capablanca, Alekhine, etc. FIDE has to
return to the old style round robin to really give us a better
indication who should be the challenger to Kasparov. However, I find the
current plan repulsive because it allows Kasparov a free ride into the
semi final round. Gary Kasparov HAS to be involved in the knockout
tournament from the beginning to lend any credence to his claim he's the
"best" player in the world. Sure, he's the best...but even the best can
be shocked and knocked out of a chess tournament. Look at what almost
happened to Vishy Anand in the last one. He was almost upset by an
unknown player! And poor Judit Polgar didn't get her chance to tear into
the real heavyweights like Morozevich, Smirin, etc. I suggest Judit
Polgar for the opponent for Kasparov because she's not a quitter. She
fights all the way and she's not afraid of tactical complicated fights
to the finish on the chessboard. Her match with Anand was outstanding
for its complexity and fighting spirit. She deserves a shot against
Kasparov. No doubt about it.