The field for the 2004 edition of the Corus Wijk aan Zee supertournament has been finalized. At a time when events are being cancelled left and right, having one confirmed over three months in advance is nice. The field: Kramnik, Anand, Leko, Shirov, Svidler, Bareev, Adams, Akopian, Sokolov, Morozevich, van Wely, Zhang Zhong, Bologan, Timman.
Fantastic field, as always. Kasparov, winner in 99, 00, and 01, said the invitation didn't fit his schedule. The last time Kasparov had a similar long layoff due to a cancelled world championship match was in 1998. Wijk aan Zee 99 was the beginning of the road back from his relatively poor 1998 Linares and the start of a 10-tournament win streak. Quite a few parallels there to the current situation. That streak ended in Linares this year, so you might think Corus 2004 would be a good chance to try and continue the symmetry for Kasparov. If not, he's waiting for Linares in February, which hasn't been confirmed yet.
