Will the persons who voted for Fishcer please own up? 

On a similar note, I can't help feeling that the players who can mix and match 1.e4 and 1.d4 effectively have some advantage in these super tourneys.  It's always nice to have options.  I think Radjabov has benefitted from adding 1.e4.  Leko should use 1.d4 more often, as should Anand, who has proved on occasion that he knows a thing or two about those positions.  Of course Topalov is flexy.  So is Shirov.  Even Morozevich plays 1.d4 nowadays on occasion. Kramnik can play 1.e4 if he wants, although it is increasingly rare in his games now.  I think his last e4 was when he beat-up on someone in the Berliner.

I voted for Aronian as well.  It would be great for top-flight chess to have Svidler or Moro win.  Svidler has strung together a number of good tournaments, but has managed to drop crucial points in each of them.  If he can hold it together for a whole tournament, he is certainly capable of taking top spot.  And I fear Moro will be propping up the bottom of the table, but wouldn't be great to see him cash in on all that creative and aggressive play?

Everybody seem to forget about Aronian... untill his name appears on the top of the crosstable after the last round.

I think Topalov will win (or at least will be very near the first place). If he is not afraid of losing games, he will give us some demonstrations of "champagne" chess again. I really like his style, his manager is another question...

If you are like me and you are tired of the endless Kramnik vs. Topalov debates and deabtes over cheating allegations  and all that stuff, you might want to talk about something else. 

Well fortunately for us, Linares is just around the corner. 

Below is the schedule:

Morelia (Michoacán – México)

Round 1 February 17
Round 2 February 18
Round 3 February 19
Rest day February 20
Round 4 February 21
Round 5 February 22
Rest day February 23
Round 6 February 24
Round 7 February 25



Linares (Jaén – España)

Round 8 March 2
Round 9 March 3
Round 10 March 4
Rest day March 5
Round 11 March 6
Round 12 March 7
Rest day March 8
Round 13 March 9
Round 14 March 10

And the participants:

. Veselin Topalov 
2. Viswanatan Anand
3. Peter Svidler
4. Alexander Morozevich
5. Peter Leko
6. Levon Aronian
7. Teimour Radjabov
8. Magnus Carlsen

And no, Fischer is not really taking part.