London Chess Classic 2015

[Jonathan Rogers]

It seems to me that the real point of difference is the purpose of the wild card. It could be to heighten local interest in the event, or it could just as easily be to add variety to the chess on offer/increase likelihood of decisive/surprise results. Different events may approach this differently. Riga, in giving the wild card to Luke a few years ago, very much went down the second path, though I suspect that more events prefer the first. If the LCC is among those that prefer local interest, then I think it has to be Adams, the clear British number one.

But of course many would say that both considerations are important, and then a strong case could surely be made for Luke. It is not a strange view to hold.