Tata Steel Chess to kick off in less than a week

Tata Steel 2022 - Masters and Challengers

The Tata Steel tournament in Wijk traditionally opens the tournament calendar of the year for elite players, and this year is no exception. It will be held in the second half of January, from 14 to 30 January.

Master Class Vol.8 - Magnus Carlsen 2nd Edition

Let our authors show you how Carlsen tailored his openings to be able to outplay his opponents strategically in the middlegame or to obtain an enduring advantage into the endgame.

The great atmosphere of the tournament is created by the delightful mix of amateurs and professionals. Some of the world’s best players play in the Masters, while in the numerous open tournaments in the multi-purpose hall De Moriaan, hundreds of club players also compete for points while providing a special setting. This year, despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the tournament will take place again, but on a smaller scale. The Masters and the Challengers will be played, but the Open had to be cancelled by the organizers, led by Jeroen van den Berg.

As usual, 14 grandmasters will play in the Masters, led by the old and new World Champion Magnus Carlsen. With Fabiano Caruana and Sergey Karjakin, there are also two of the last three challengers for the world crown in the field.

Carlsen and Vidit, from better times, when spectators were allowed in the playing hall

Anish Giri and Jorden van Foreest will represent the Dutch colours. The two local heroes played a tiebreak for the tournament title last year. Van Foreest won, and thus became the first Dutch tournament winner since Jan Timman in 1985.

With Shakriyar Memdyarov, an experienced world-class grandmaster is playing. The somewhat younger generation is represented by Richard Rapport, Jan-Krzysztof Duda and Daniil Dubov. Andrey Esipenko is even younger. Vidit and Praggnanandhaa represent India, the country of the main sponsor, Tata Steel. Sam Shankland completes the field.

One name that one would have expected among the participants after his successes last year is missing: Alireza Firouzja. The new world number two was supposed to be invited, but the organizers could not agree with the player, or his father, on the financial conditions. This happens very rarely, said Jeroen van den Berg in an interview.

Of course, the organizers and the spectators would have loved to see Alireza Firouzja in this field. It is good if a player knows his market value. But if he overestimates himself, nobody is helped, least of all the player himself, who misses an opportunity to learn and put himself in the limelight again. 

All participants - Masters

Navigating the Ruy Lopez Vol.1-3

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.

Challengers 

Parallel to the Masters, a Challengers tournament will take place again this year. Last year, this tournament was on hiatus. Here, too, established players will meet rising talents. In addition, the organizers are integrating some female players.

The Challengers field is led by the Kazakh Grandmaster Rinat Jumabayev (33). At the last World Cup in Sochi, he eliminated Fabiano Caruana.

Surya Ganguly and Erwin L’Ami are among the experienced grandmasters in the field.

With Arjun Erigaisi, Thai Dai Van Nguyen, the reigning Dutch Champion Max Warmerdam, Jonas Buhl Bjerre, Daniel Dardha, Lucas van Foreest and Wolodar Murzin, there is a whole pack of young, hungry players. Among them is certainly former U16 World Champion Roven Vogel, who is the only German player in Wijk aan Zee. Roven Vogel won the 2020 Tata Steel Qualifiers to advance to the Tata Steel Challengers. Polina Shuvalova and the 20-year-old Chinese Zhu Jiner represent the female gender — They are the top two players in the girls’ world rankings.

The youngest participant is the French Grandmaster Marc Andria Maurizzi (14). He is also a great talent in football.

All participants - Challengers

The modern Two Knights

The Two Knights Defence is one of the oldest opening lines in chess history. This DVD is aimed at players of both sides, giving an objective overview of all relevant theoretical lines.

All ratings as of 1 December 2021

The tournaments will be played on January 14-30 over 13 rounds. Rest days will be on Wednesday the 19th, Monday the 24th and Thursday the 27th.

Steel and chess: creativity and innovation

The Tata Steel Chess Tournament has a long tradition. What started as an employee tournament has evolved into a world-class international tournament that grandmasters and amateurs alike keep their schedules free for. Tata Steel chose chess because chess requires strategic thinking and focuses on finding creative solutions to complex problems.

Tata Steel has exactly the same focus. Steelmaking is a high-tech process where innovation plays a crucial role. Tata Steel employees work continuously and tirelessly to find clever solutions to improve processes and products. Only in this way is Tata Steel able to provide its customers with cutting-edge products with which they can distinguish themselves in their markets. At the same time, Tata Steel contributes to the creation of a sustainable society through its product and process innovations.  

Links

• Official site
• Van Foreest beats Giri in Armageddon, wins Tata Steel Masters