
The 78th Tata Steel Chess Tournament took place from January 15 to 31,
2016, in the coastal village of Wijk aan Zee, North Holland. It was one
of the most prestigious events in the international chess calendar. The
tournament had two main player groups, each with 14 players: the Tata Steel
Masters and the Tata Steel Challengers. The former was won by World Champion
Magnus Carlsen, the latter by Indian GM Adhiban Baskaran.
Adhiban sent us a detailed account of his exploits in Wijk, with some superb
game annotations. The two-part series on his victory will give you an insight
into the mind of one of the best emerging talents in the world. Read
part one here.
From a Challenger to a Master – part two
By GM Adhiban Baskaran
This is how the standings looked after seven rounds:

After taking over the lead comes the tricky part of maintaining it until
the end, and also overcoming one obstacle after another. Definitely it was
going to push my abilities to the limit, but luckily I had seen a nice quote
which instantly became my desktop wallpaper: “You will only know your
limits if you push yourself to them!”
Editorial note:
Before you continue with Adhiban on his round by round journey we would
like to let you know that the 23-year-old Indian has sent us some extremely
meticulously annotated games from the first seven rounds, including
training questions. For all those who have ChessBase software installed
on your computer, (and those don’t can always use the free
ChessBase reader) you can download
the CBV file here and solve the training questions. We thoroughly
recommend doing this and are of the opinion that this exercise will
make you stronger by at least by 50 Elo points! |
R8: Erwin l’Ami - B. Adhiban
First obstacle was in the form Erwin L’Ami. I used an idea which
I had already played last year and got a very decent position out of the
opening, since he hadn’t checked my games (!). But when the position
was around equal I got too ambitious and almost lost the game. Luckily,
I managed to pull through in the end and wriggled out with a draw.
Erwin l’Ami-B. Adhiban
White to play
If it was my move I would have blocked the kingside with …f5 over
here. But it is White’s turn to play. Erwin couldn’t find the
right move in the game, but Moiseenko came up with the right idea in the
post-game conference.
Click for the solution
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L'Ami,E | 2627 | Adhiban,B | 2653 | ½–½ |
Please, wait...
R9: Adhiban–Jorden van Foreest
Next up was Jorden van Foreest, and I had the white pieces along with a
full rest day to prepare against him. But unfortunately such things give
rise to too many false hopes: I ran into big trouble and couldn’t
save the game. But my nearest contender Eltaj Safarli (who was trailing
me by half a point) drew his encounter. So I was still in the lead with
him and we were due to meet in the next round. A battle which would decide
the fate of the event!
Replay and check the LiveBook here |
Please, wait...
- Start an analysis engine:
- Try maximizing the board:
- Use the four cursor keys to replay the game. Make moves to analyse yourself.
- Press Ctrl-B to rotate the board.
- Drag the split bars between window panes.
- Download&Clip PGN/GIF/FEN/QR Codes. Share the game.
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Adhiban,B | 2653 | Van Foreest,J | 2541 | 0–1 | 2016 | A40 | Tata Steel Challengers | 9 |
Please, wait...

A loss in such a crucial round is never a good
feeling
Overcoming the limits!
When you are playing a great event it will look like everything is going
your way and a loss can seriously dampen your spirits. A defeat can be the
turning point and affect your play in the remaining games. The simplest
thing to do is to accept that you have lost the game and concentrate on
what’s coming next. You cannot change the past but you can control
your future! And for me the easiest way to forget a loss is to win the next
game. As simple as that!
It had all boiled down to the crucial tenth round which also played an
important role in the standings. But by now I had learnt my lesson that
focusing too much on the standings does more harm than good.
R10: B. Adhiban–Eltaj Safarli
With wins over Antipov, Bok, Sevian and Haast,
Eltaj Safarli was having a great tournament
My opening choice Trompowsky was quite double edged. It could have gone
either way. A fighting position was all I was looking for, and that is what
I was able to get. It was a long grind, and although there were many ups
and downs it was one of my best games in the event. And that, my friends,
is how you forget a loss!
I have annotated the game in quite some detail
below, but here is a nice position to test your
calculation on the method of exclusion. What is the only way for White to
win in the above diagram?
Click for the solution
Replay and check the LiveBook here |
Please, wait...
28...Qd7 28...Nd6 29.Ra1! 29.Ng5 Qxg5 30.Qxd6 Qg3 29.Qe6 Rd8
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Adhiban,B | 2653 | Safarli,E | 2653 | 1–0 |
Please, wait...
Seeing it through to the end
So the lead was back and I had to face another strong challenge in the
form of Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu (who was the top seed of the event). I lost
a pawn straight out of the opening and didn’t have much compensation
for it. But when you are pushed to the wall either you crumble or fight
back! I chose the latter and luckily for me I was able to save a lost endgame!
Nisipeanu-Adhiban
Black to play – What exactly is White
threatening? A strong prophylactic
thinker will not take too much time to find Black’s move here.
Click for the solution
Replay and check the LiveBook here |
Please, wait...
54.Kh6 Rf5! 55.f4? 55.Rg4! Rxf3 56.Kh7 Rh3+ 57.Kg8 b4! 57...Kf5? 58.g7+- 58.g7 b3 59.Rf4+ Ke7 60.Rf7+ Ke6 61.Kf8 Rg3 62.g8Q Rxg8+ 63.Kxg8 Kd5= 55...Rd5! 56.Rb1 Rd8! 56...Rd2 57.Rxb5+- 57.g7 Rd3! 58.g8N+ Kf5 59.Rb4 59.Rf1 b4! 59...Rd4 60.Ne7+ Kf6 61.Ng6+- 60.Kg7 60.Ne7+ Kf6 60...Rd7+! 60...b3 61.Ne7+ 61.Kf8 b3 62.Nh6+ Ke4 62...Kf6 63.Ng4+ Kf5 64.Ne5 Rb7 63.Ng4 Ra7! 64.f5 b2 59...Re3! 60.Rd4 Re4 61.Rd5+ 61.Rxe4 Kxe4 62.Kg5 b4 63.f5 b3 64.f6 b2 65.f7 b1Q 66.f8Q 61...Kxf4 ½–½
- Start an analysis engine:
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Nisipeanu,L | 2679 | Adhiban,B | 2653 | ½–½ |
Please, wait...
I was happy to survive such a game but little did I know, I would have
defend another lost position in the very next game due to my over ambitious
play!
R12: Adhiban–Nino Batsiashvili

4.Bg5!? in the footsteps of Boris Spassky!
But it wasn’t a particularly good idea on that particular day
And that’s exactly what happened. Another miraculous save and I was
still sharing the lead as Dreev also drew (thanks to Abasov this time –
a friend in need is a friend indeed!)
Adhiban-Batsiashvili
H.O.P.E = Hold on pain ends! You are in a desperate
situation. The position is completely lost
but you need to put up the maximum resistance here. What will you play as
White?
Click for the solution
Replay and check the LiveBook here |
Please, wait...
- Start an analysis engine:
- Try maximizing the board:
- Use the four cursor keys to replay the game. Make moves to analyse yourself.
- Press Ctrl-B to rotate the board.
- Drag the split bars between window panes.
- Download&Clip PGN/GIF/FEN/QR Codes. Share the game.
- Games viewed here will automatically be stored in your cloud clipboard (if you are logged in). Use the cloud clipboard also in ChessBase.
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Adhiban,B | 2653 | Batsiashvili,N | 2485 | ½–½ |
Please, wait...
So it was time to take stock, as these last two games were really not up
to my standards. What exactly was happening? I can’t claim it was
due to the loss, since I came back in the next round itself. I had to ask
myself, “So what was the real reason?” It was always the lead
and the standings which was the culprit! I just forgot about it and focused
on only making the best moves in the last game of the tournament.
R13: Samuel Sevian-Adhiban
Funnily the only person whose style I didn’t understand a bit, during
my preparations before the event, was Samuel Sevian. Somehow his repertoire
is very misleading. Hence, my trainer and I discussed a couple of things
about him when I was in Chennai. I mean out of all the 13 players why him
specifically? As things turned out, those few minutes of discussion on Sevian’s
playing style played the most important role in my path to winning the Tata
Steel Challengers! Coincidence or Destiny? I like to think it was the latter!
Samuel Sevian is not a guy to be messed with!
Before the start of the round I was tied with the same score as Dreev and
half a point ahead of Safarli. In case of equal points I had the best tiebreak,
as I had beaten both of them.
Samuel tried an interesting idea in the Najdorf, 6.Bg5, but I was able
to get a highly promising position. He defended tenaciously and got a defensive
fortress. I was quite disappointed that it didn’t turn out the way
I had wanted, but then I remembered what my coach had told me way back in
2008: ”You don’t have to do all the job, you can count on friends
to deliver when it is needed and help you out!” So I got up to see
the other crucial game Admiraal-Dreev, and great was my surprise when I
saw that Miguoel was playing his best game of the entire event! He was clearly
in the driver’s seat and it was Dreev who was fighting for a draw!
I smiled to myself and returned back to my game and decided to continue
until things became more clear in Dreev’s game. Soon they drew and
that meant it was time to offer a draw, which Sevian immediately accepted
(sparing me some anxious moments where you wait for your opponent’s
reaction).
- Start an analysis engine:
- Try maximizing the board:
- Use the four cursor keys to replay the game. Make moves to analyse yourself.
- Press Ctrl-B to rotate the board.
- Drag the split bars between window panes.
- Download&Clip PGN/GIF/FEN/QR Codes. Share the game.
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Sevian,S | 2578 | Adhiban,B | 2653 | ½–½ | 2016 | B94 | 78th Tata Steel GpB | 13.5 |
Please, wait...
That moment when you know you have done the
job but try and contain your excitement!

Receiving the winner’s trophy

Looking forward to crossing swords with Magnus
in January 2017! [Click on image for high-res version]
It didn’t strike me immediately what I had achieved. Slowly the realization
that I had actually qualified into the Masters next year began to sink in!
Following up on the path showed by my great predecessors Harikrishna and
Wei Yi I will do my best in Wijk in 2017! I look forward to your support.
I would like to dedicate this victory to my father and my coach K. Visweswaran.
Both of them have been my pillars of strength.

A huge thanks to Alina l’Ami, who took
some amazing pictures
at the event and truly made it memorable for one and all.
Links
The games are being broadcast live on the official web site and on
the server Playchess.com.
If you are not a member you can download a free Playchess client there
and get immediate access. You can also use ChessBase
or any of our Fritz
compatible chess programs. |
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