Tata Steel Chess 2020: Round 13

by ChessBase
1/26/2020 – The 82nd edition of the chess festival in Wijk aan Zee takes place from January 11-26. By beating the previously undefeated Jan-Krzysztof Duda, Fabiano Caruana scored his third straight win to secure first place at the Masters with a round the spare. Starting with his victory over Daniil Dubov last Saturday, Caruana showed why he has maintained his second place in the ratings list for so long. The final round starts an hour and a half earlier, at 11:00 UTC (12:00 CET / 6:00 AM EST) with live games and commentary by GM Peter Leko and IM Sopiko Guramishvili | Photo: Alina l'Ami / TataSteelChess.com
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Round 13

Fabiano Caruana's 9 out of 12 performance in Wijk aan Zee has gained him 15.8 rating points, leaving him on a superlative 2837.8 — a live rating that has only ever been surpassed by Magnus Carlsen, Garry Kasparov and Caruana's own 2851.3 from 2014. The American has consolidated himself at the top, and getting his first-ever triumph in Wijk aan Zee only confirms his status as a historic figure in the chess world.

The American scored six wins and six draws to go into the last day of action one and a half points ahead of Magnus Carlsen. After a steady start, he scored five wins from rounds seven to twelve, including a lucky break in round eight, when he won from a largely inferior position against Vishy Anand. His latest victim was Jan-Krzysztof Duda, who was already on the back foot out of the opening..

Round-by-round news and analysis on Tata Steel Chess 2020

Live games and commentary

Players receive 100 minutes for 40 moves followed by 50 minutes for 20 moves, then 15 minutes for the rest of the game plus 30 seconds per move starting from move one.

 

The Ruy Lopez is one of the oldest openings which continues to enjoy high popularity from club level to the absolute world top. In this video series, American super GM Fabiano Caruana, talking to IM Oliver Reeh, presents a complete repertoire for White.

 

Current results & standings (Masters)

 
 

Current results & standings (Challengers)

 
 

Players in the Masters

  Name Fed. Rating Rank
GM Carlsen, Magnus NOR 2872 1
GM Caruana, Fabiano USA 2822 2
GM Giri, Anish NED 2768 9
GM So, Wesley USA 2765 10
GM Anand, Viswanathan IND 2758 14
GM Duda, Jan-Krzysztof POL 2758 15
GM Vitiugov, Nikita RUS 2747 19
GM Artemiev, Vladislav RUS 2731 23
GM Yu, Yangyi CHN 2726 25
GM Firouzja, Alireza FID 2723 27
GM Xiong, Jeffery USA 2712 33
GM Dubov, Daniil RUS 2683 53
GM Kovalev, Vladislav BLR 2660 82
GM Van Foreest, Jorden NED 2644 110
 

Elo avg: 2741
Category: 20
FIDE ratings from January 2020

Players in the Challengers

  Name Country Rating
GM Anton Guijarro, David ESP 2694
GM Grandelius, Nils SWE 2673
GM Mamedov, Rauf AZE 2659
GM Eljanov, Pavel UKR 2650
GM Ganguly, Surya Shekhar IND 2636
GM Abdusattorov, Nodirbek UZB 2635
GM Nihal Sarin IND 2618
GM L'Ami, Erwin NED 2606
GM Smirnov, Anton AUS 2604
GM Smeets, Jan NED 2585
IM Keymer, Vincent GER 2527
GM Van Foreest, Lucas NED 2523
IM Saduakassova, Dinara KAZ 2519
IM Warmerdam, Max NED 2498

Elo avg: 2602
Category: 15
FIDE ratings from January 2020

Schedule

The 82nd edition of the Tata Steel chess tournament will take place in Wijk aan Zee from January 10th to 26th, 2020. The 5th round on January 16th will be held at the Philips Stadium in Eindhoven. Entry to all rounds of the Tata Steel chess tournament is free of charge. The games can also be followed online at Live.ChessBase.com or the official website. 

Rest days in the Masters and Challengers are on January 15th, 20th and 23rd. Rounds start at 12:30 UTC (13:30 CET / 7:30 AM EST), except January 16th in Eindhoven when it starts 30 minutes later.

Round-up show schedule

Date Round Author
Jan 11 1 Lawrence Trent
Jan 12 2 Daniel King
Jan 13 3 Yannick Pelletier
Jan 14 4 Daniel King
Jan 15 Rest day  
Jan 16 5 Daniel King
Jan 17 6 Lawrence Trent
Jan 18 7 Lawrence Trent
Jan 19 8 Yannick Pelletier
Jan 20 Rest day  
Jan 21 9 Yannick Pelletier
Jan 22 10 Daniel King
Jan 23 Rest day  
Jan 24 11 Yannick Pelletier
Jan 25 12 Yannick Pelletier
Jan 26 13 Daniel King

"Fans are you ready? Wijk aan Zee are you ready? The Masters ARE ready!"

Links

Topics: Tata Steel Chess 2020
Reports about chess: tournaments, championships, portraits, interviews, World Championships, product launches and more.

Discuss

Rules for reader comments

 
 

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jrf1831 jrf1831 1/26/2020 08:36
Caruana really, really impressive.
IntensityInsanity IntensityInsanity 1/26/2020 08:07
Actually, putting things in relative perspective, Karpov’s opponents were considerably stronger than this one. The only tournament performance competing with karpov’s is Caruana’s win in St Luis 2014, sinqfield cup.
retspan retspan 1/26/2020 06:50
What a performance by Caruana! Almost like Karpov in Linares 1994. Of course, one can also argue that Karpov's opponents back then were not as strong (yet) as in this Tata Steel edition.
PurpDriv2 PurpDriv2 1/25/2020 06:28
Firouzja clearly learned a lot from this tournament what are real top chess games.
PurpDriv2 PurpDriv2 1/25/2020 06:27
Congrats to Caruana
Magic_Knight Magic_Knight 1/25/2020 02:37
Playing Magnus in the earlier rounds is definitely better. The guy is like a convection oven, he always starts off slow and cool (opponents get away with draws) and then heats up by the end and no matter who he plays they get cooked!
ramirad ramirad 1/25/2020 05:03
Great performance from Firouzja! He lost in the row 3 games but showed his aggressive playing style. He plays just for win. For sure, he could go for boring draws, but he did not. He will be in the future candidate for world championship. Keep going Alireza!
dumkof dumkof 1/25/2020 02:01
Extra price money for decisive games (wins) might be useful in matches only, where players need to win only once and draw the rest, to win the match.

But in a tournament, the players are already highly motivated to win, since a +1 score would only place them slightly above the average. Players need +3 or +4 scores, to win a tournament, and can't simply sit on a win.
JNorri JNorri 1/24/2020 10:06
@Leavenfish, there would still be the same pecuniary motivation to hold your opponent to a draw, so that he doesn't take a bigger cut of the prizefond at your expense. And... what if all games ended in draws? Perhaps everybody goes home emptyhanded? Well, surely a bunch of super GMs are good for a bit of oldfashioned collusion.
fgkdjlkag fgkdjlkag 1/24/2020 07:44
@Leavenfish, I suspect the games will be more exciting, but not by the margin that many assume. Chess is still likely a draw with best play by both sides. The opening theory tome is so massive that in all the sound openings, no side emerges from the opening with a large advantage. So the players are fighting with small advantages. Playing unsound openings is not going to increase the chance of a player winning, so these openings are not going to be favored either. Still worth an experiment. It would have a bigger impact when there is a big differential in ratings, because the top player really needs a win. But that is already the case in tournaments, top players are trying to win against the lowest rateds.
Leavenfish Leavenfish 1/24/2020 02:48
Imagine how intense these Super GM tourneys would be if instead of playing for 'place' in these final rounds, players were awarded final payout on WINS?

I have to think that should be way of the future. At the end of a tourney, you divide up the payout based on the number of GAMES YOU WON.

No need to change the rules - like the much hyped Kramnik 'no castling' or Fischer Random. Let ambition for $$ keep the games interesting!
UncleFischer UncleFischer 1/23/2020 03:06
@tigerprowl3 Most people, like me, want to see the best of the best and don't have much time for anything else, be it "the L'Ami win over Mamedov" or the women's world championship. Carlsen is the world champ and Firouzja is the top junior and most promising player around, hence their game attracts much attention.
EyeM EyeM 1/22/2020 09:17
The other masters sent a message to Kovalev: "Welcome to the big leagues."
Stupido Stupido 1/22/2020 07:06
To get back to chess: if I am not mistaken, Caruana plays Carlsen's opponent of the prior round, which may be some kind of advantage when Carlsen has switched on destructor mode ;) I remember there was a tournament in the late 80's or early 90's with the same pattern, ie players having to play by Karpov and Kasparov in successive rounds and getting double beatings in a row.
tigerprowl3 tigerprowl3 1/22/2020 03:28
Why all the attention on the Firouzja Carlsen game? I understand it was the only decisive game in the champions section, but how about going over the decisive games from the challengers section as well? Like the L'Ami win over Mamedov.
Aighearach Aighearach 1/21/2020 09:46
Rambus: Because the west doesn't really have government support of chess, the Soviet Union was able to stay in the lead easily, by simply having large numbers of trainers, and an educational system that flagged potential chess stars early and removed them from normal studies.

Russia doesn't have the money for that many trainers, doesn't have the national economic system that would cause people to hand their children over to sport training instead of normal education, and they don't have a political/civic system that can successfully encourage people to stay or prevent them from leaving for greener pastures.

As in all sports, humans are not born better in one place than another. For a nation to be on top of a sport requires large investments and civic capabilities in numerous areas.

Russia retains a population with a high interest in chess, so even today they're over-represented at the top compared to their population. But don't expect them to dominate again like they did in the past. The internet and computers have vastly lowered the bar to training. There is no longer a way to be that far ahead in training, it will never be possible again.
chessgod0 chessgod0 1/21/2020 08:05
Carlsen stamped his authority on the youngster today and is now in striking distance of the leader. What a difference a day makes.
Masquer Masquer 1/20/2020 02:09
the Super K's are now in the West: Karlsen vs Karuana. :p
Stupido Stupido 1/19/2020 05:47
Look at the van Foreest - Firouzja opening. 30 years ago it would have seemed like a patzer game. ;) Those younsters have no respect for principles.
Phillidor Phillidor 1/19/2020 04:00
@ Rambus, I could wonder the same, as there will be no Kartmiev, Kubov, Krischuk, Kitiugov, Kandreikin, Kvidler, Komashevsky, Kalekseenko, Kedoseev, Katlakov, just to guess a few, whereas Karjakin actually starts with K.

I think we have to respect alphabatical order, if we start with Anand, continue with Carlsen, then there could be Firouzja, Gukesh,.., and after that "K" is soon to be followed, just have trust in the Russians.
ulyssesganesh ulyssesganesh 1/19/2020 04:38
vishy didn't try seriously to win the Carlsen'game...... it is a pity......
Rambus Rambus 1/19/2020 03:57
What has happened to the Russians? The famed Botvinnik Soviet Chess School seems to have disintegrated with the Soviet Union. When is another K going to emerge after Kaprov, Kasparov, Kramnik?
Masquer Masquer 1/19/2020 12:17
Ferocious Firouzja! Nice going so far. :)
chessgod0 chessgod0 1/18/2020 08:29
A nice save by Carlsen. But this kind of indifferent play likely won't cut it against the hungry Firouzja. Maybe chess needs some new blood at the top--the rise of this kid could not have come at a better time.
retspan retspan 1/18/2020 07:52
Nice win by Firouzja. Wouldn't it be something if the kid actually won this tournament? Only 16 and already a fierce competitor at the highest levels. A possible world champion in the making.
chessgod0 chessgod0 1/18/2020 05:58
This Anand-Carlsen game could very well be the end of the champion's no-loss streak. He's slowly but surely being pushed off the board. Position is defensible but he will have to dig deep to find the motivation...and when you have been to the mountaintop and have reigned for years that motivation can be very hard to find...
ilker kalyoncu ilker kalyoncu 1/17/2020 07:22
@dumkof - I do not want to start a debate. Playing under the Fide flag was Alireza's decision and we should just respect that and act accordingly.
tom_70 tom_70 1/17/2020 06:17
Firouzja is playing with the kind of drive, ambition and passion that Carlsen played with at that age. If he keeps trying as hard as he is now, he'll beat Carlsen eventually and be the next world champion. Carlsen is my favorite player, but he's already won everything that can possibly be won in the chess world. He's been number 1 in everything for many years now. How does one maintain the motivation to compete against young , hungry , world class players in such a scenario? I don't know if it's possible.
ramirad ramirad 1/17/2020 05:14
Great performance from Firouzja. Just keep going Alireza!
macauley macauley 1/16/2020 11:23
@ilker kalyoncu - We may update his flag in the future, but few players play under the FIDE flag, and at moment the ChessBase Playerbase contains only country flags.
dumkof dumkof 1/16/2020 10:22
İlker, what's the point of making such a statement? Fide is not a country. Alireza is Iranian and represents Iran probably more than any other Iranian. And his representative role gets even bigger as his playing strength and fame gets bigger. Political issues won't change this.
ilker kalyoncu ilker kalyoncu 1/15/2020 05:48
Alireza is not representing Iran, but is playing under the Fide flag. Editors should correct the standings table.
RichardEaston RichardEaston 1/14/2020 10:46
11 wins for white and none for black. Is this a blip or a trend.
anthonyy anthonyy 1/14/2020 10:29
It is definitely better to play against Magnus in the first rounds. It looks like he waits for a few rounds to see whom he needs to beat in order to win the tournament.
macauley macauley 1/12/2020 08:55
@the opposition - This is a goofy feature of the Twitch platform, which is based on channels rather than events. You'll find the same issue on the official site. They also have a contact page. Meanwhile, I've added the correct video back.
the opposition the opposition 1/11/2020 09:50
Been looking forward to watching the TATA Steel championship live BUT when I go to pen it it has a Puzzle Rush semi-fianal instead but is inside the Tata event!!! WTF????
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