Tata Steel 2014 under way

The 76th edition of the Tata Steel Chess Tournament will take place from 10 to 26 January 2014. The top players will compete in two groups (previously there were three), with twelve players in each, instead of fourteen. The structure of the amateur tournaments remains unchanged. Both groups start on January 11th 2014, with all rounds starting at 13:30h (1:30 p.m.) local time, except for the last round on January 26th, which begins at 12:00h. Two rounds will be played in Amsterdam and Eindhoven and will start at 14:00. The time controls are 100 minutes for 40 moves, followed by 50 minutes for 20 moves, then 15 minutes for the remaining moves with 30 seconds cumulative increment for each move starting from the first move.

Opening ceremony

Impressions by Alina l'Ami

In most areas of our dynamic modern World change is not only a probable phenomenon; in most cases it is also inevitable. Just because some things looked different doesn't mean that anything has changed essentially in Wijk aan Zee!

True, the format of the Tata Steel Chess Tournament is slightly different than before. The famous well known tent has vanished as if touched by a spell. Among the new features, the online commentary and the three different locations which are going to host the event clearly stand out. And there are rumours that many more surprises are still to come...

Having been used for years to the Zeeduin hotel, I do have the impression we are all facing a dilemma in the roller coaster called 21st century; or at least this is my case: I love change but I am also a bit reluctant towards it; probably what I really want is that things remain the same and yet, to get better.

No matter how difficult (or impossible) it may seem to fulfil such a contradictory and paradoxical wish, there is a place in The Netherlands where people managed to accomplish it. One can feel that at Wijk aan Zee the traditional chess fever is very much the same as for the past (already countless) decades, but some things did get better!

There is no secret I feel like home here and nothing can alter that unique feeling. There may be cold head winds coming from the West or the North, or in an abstract sense from the hardships of the times we are living in and from the constant adaptive measures we all have to take; but no matter the challenges, one thing never changes in the Tata Steel Chess Tournament: its wonderful atmosphere.

Unfortunately I was not able to stay for the full opening: I had to attend, together with my husband, the Sports Gala in Woerden, my husband's native city. We were both nominated for the Sports Woman/Man of the year 2013. Eventually none of us won the title, but we had a very good evening. So I can only provide some brief impressions.

Can you count the rating points? Players at the opening ceremony. Eagle eyes will recognize
Nakamura, Caruana, Naiditsch, Harikrishna, Giri, van Wely, Karjakin, Gelfand and Dominguez

The organisers staged the Night Watch painting by Rembrand on the stage

The above video, posted on YouTube, shows performers taking part in a large-scale flashmob recreation of Rembrandt's famous painting "The Night Watch" – to celebrate the return of the painting, one of the Dutch artist's greatest works, to Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum.

Rembrandt's "Night Watch" or "or The Shooting Company of Frans Banning Cocq" (full size image can be views at Wikipedia) was completed in 1642, is one of the most famous paintings in the world. It is renowned for three characteristics: its colossal size (363 cm × 437 cm (11.91 ft × 14.34 ft)), the effective use of light and shadow (chiaroscuro), and the perception of motion in what would have traditionally been a static military portrait.

The players of the Master Group A – above Caruana, Karjakin, Giri and Aronian –
joined the actors on the stage for the drawing of colours

Dutch chess legend (what else can you call him) Jan Timman being interviewed

Dimitri Reinderman, the current Dutch Champion, is well known for his daring
hair colours: red, blue, green etc. "This one? It is a new colour indeed"

Sergey Karjakin with his girlfriend Galiya Kamalova

The van Wely family: Lorena and Loek

Arianne Caoili and her porte-bonheur: a beautiful piece of jewelry made of
jade, brought all the way from China by her boyfriend Levon Aronian.

Loek van Wely, Levon Aronian and Boris Gelfand, who looks like he is telling them the two
most important secrets of success in life: (1) Don't tell people everything you know.

Schedule and results

Schedule of Grandmaster Group B

Commentary schedule on Playchess

Links Official tournament site All games in PGN The games will be broadcast live on the official web site and on the chess 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 12 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs.