Tata Steel Chess R1: Ding and Abdusattorov score with black

No Russian players

Unlike official FIDE tournaments, private events can circumvent political dilemmas by simply inviting players who are not involved in the conflict. At the 83rd edition of the Tata Steel Championship, there are no Russians neither in the Challengers nor in the Masters. Given the rich chess tradition of the country ruled by authoritarian Vladimir Putin, this is a noteworthy, unprecedented circumstance. FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich did get an invitation, though.

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As for the other big political (and religious) dispute that has spilled into the chess world — Iranian authorities’ intolerance towards representatives of their country that agree to play against Israeli players — the organizers did not have to deal with any related problems. Since there are no Israelis rated 2700 or above, they safely invited Parham Maghsoodloo as Jan-Krzysztof Duda’s late replacement. Similarly, Amin Tabatabaei is among the fourteen Challengers fighting for a spot in next year’s Masters tournament.

Tournament Director Jeroen van den Berg with guests of honour Vishy Anand and Arkady Dvorkovich | Photo: Jurriaan Hoefsmit / Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2023

Following a couple of quiet weeks in the world of elite chess competitions, the classical chess action finally kicked off in Wijk aan Zee. With rapid and blitz tournaments gaining prevalence as of late, it is great to see players getting enough time to create the timeless masterpieces that shape the growing legacy of the game. To deal with the danger of players going for safe draws, the organizers once again summoned an attractive field of players, combining ambitious youth with the proven excellence of long-standing elite grandmasters.

Two players emerged as co-leaders after the first day of action in the Masters, Ding Liren and Nodirbek Abdusattorov, as both scored wins with the black pieces on Saturday. The most anticipated game of the round, Magnus Carlsen versus Levon Aronian, was one of five clashes that finished drawn.

Notably, besides the two winners of the day, three other players got good positions while marshalling the black pieces — Wesley So, Anish Giri and Vincent Keymer all failed to obtain full points after getting the upper hand in their games.

Levon Aronian held Magnus Carlsen to a draw with the black pieces | Photo: Jurriaan Hoefsmit / Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2023

Ding wins again, six and a half months later

Supposedly, Ding Liren will face Ian Nepomniachtchi in a World Championship match in April, although time is running out and FIDE has yet to announce a venue. The Chinese star’s previous outing in a classical tournament was, in fact, the Candidates Tournament, where he got the right to face Nepo after getting second place. In the last round of the event in Madrid, Ding clinched the coveted spot by beating Hikaru Nakamura in their final-round confrontation.

Six and a half months later, Ding again won a classical game, as he outplayed young Gukesh after the latter incorrectly rejected grabbing a pawn on move 23.

 

Gukesh D2725

0–1

Ding, Liren2811

85th Tata Steel Masters 2023 Wijk aan Zee14.01.2023[Besenthal,Klaus-Günther]

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.g3 Ba6 5.b3 Bb4+ 6.Bd2 Be7 7.Bg2 0-0 8.0-0 d5 9.Nc3 c6 10.Bf4 Nbd7 11.cxd5 exd5 12.Ne1 Re8 13.Nd3 Nf8 14.Bg5 Ne6 15.Bxf6 Bxf6 16.e3 Nc5 17.dxc5 Bxc3 18.Rc1 Qf6 19.Qc2 d4 20.cxb6 axb6 21.Rfd1 Rad8 22.exd4 Bxd4

23.Nf4?! The right idea, but the execution is not ideal. The knight cannot get to d5. Correct was 23.Bxc6! Rc8 24.Nf4 The pinning of the c6-bishop looks unhealthy, but the white position is safe - in all playable continuations! For example: Bb5 25.Bxb5 Rxc2 26.Rxc2 Rd8 27.Rd3= 23...g5 24.Nh5 Qh6 25.Bf3 25.g4 offered chances of salvation: Re2 26.Qf5 Qg6 27.Bf1 Qxf5 28.gxf5 25...c5

Now Black has a stable, almost static advantage. 26.g4 f5! 27.Ng3 27.gxf5 g4 28.Bxg4 Qc6‼ threatening Bb7. 27.Qxf5 Bc8 28.Qc2 Rf8 was also quite terrible. 27...fxg4 28.Nf5 Qf6 29.Be4 h5 30.b4

30...Kf8?! The king was safer on h8: 30...Kh8 31.a4 Qe6 32.Bg2? Better is 32.Re1 32...Bd3‼ 33.Rxd3 Qxf5 31.a3? The above variation does not work for Black in this case: 31.a4! Qe6? Correct is 31...Bb2 32.Bg2 Bd3?? 33.Rxd3 Qxf5 34.Rf3+- 31...h4 32.Re1 Rxe4 33.Qxe4 Bd3! This fictitious sacrifice again! 34.Qe6 Qxe6 35.Rxe6 Bxf5 36.Rxb6 g3 37.hxg3 hxg3 38.bxc5 Bh3 0–1

Gukesh will try to bounce back in his round-2 game against Anish Giri | Photo: Jurriaan Hoefsmit / Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2023

Abdusattorov takes down Rapport

Two combative players featured in the other decisive game of the first round. 18-year-old Nodirbek Abdusattorov defeated Richard Rapport in 47 moves. After getting a superior structure in the early middlegame, the Uzbek grandmaster showed great technique to convert his advantage in a queenless position.

 

Rapport, Richard2740

0–1

Abdusattorov, Nodirbek2713

85th Tata Steel Masters 2023 Wijk aan Zee14.01.2023[Besenthal,Klaus-Günther]

1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.f4 d5 4.fxe5 Nxe4 5.Qf3 f5 6.d3 Nxc3 7.bxc3 d4 8.Be2 Nc6 9.Qg3 Be6 10.c4 Bb4+ 11.Kd1 Qd7 12.Rb1 0-0-0 13.Bf3 Be7 14.Nh3 b6 15.Nf4 g5 16.Nxe6 Qxe6 17.Rb5 Nb8 18.Rd5 c6 19.Rxd8+ Rxd8 20.h3 Nd7 21.Qh2 h6

White did not get much out of the opening: the black structure looks healthier, and the bishop pair is not very strong either. 22.g4 The computers prefer 22.Re1 but the reason behind this assessment is not entirely clear: Bb4 23.Bd2 Bxd2 24.Kxd2 Re8 The e5-pawn seems to be beyond saving. 22...Nxe5 23.gxf5 Nxf3 24.fxe6 Nxh2 25.Rxh2 Rf8 26.Bb2 Rf4 27.c3

27...dxc3 After 27...Bd6! Black had more of an edge apparently: 28.Re2 dxc3 29.Bxc3 Kd8 and, unlike what happened in the game, Black controls e5 and e7. 28.Bxc3 Kd8 29.Be5 Rf1+ 30.Kc2 Bf6 31.Re2 Ke7 32.d4 Kxe6 33.Bxf6+ Kxf6 34.d5 cxd5 35.cxd5 Ra1 36.Re6+ Kf5 37.Rxh6 Rxa2+ 38.Kb3 Ra1 39.Kc4 Rc1+

40.Kd4 The losing move. Necessary was 40.Kb3! Rd1 41.d6 Ke5 42.Rg6 40...Rd1+ 41.Kc4 b5+ 42.Kc5 b4 43.Rh8 b3 44.Rf8+ Ke4 45.Re8+ Kd3 46.d6 b2 47.d7 Kc2 0–1

The ever-dangerous Richard Rapport will face Jorden van Foreest in the second round | Photo: Jurriaan Hoefsmit / Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2023

Standings after round 1 - Masters

Rk.		Name	Rtg.	Nt.	Pts.	n	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	TB	Perf.
1		Ding,L	2811		1.0	1														1	0.00	3525
2		Abdusattorov,N	2713		1.0	1													1		0.00	3540
3		Carlsen,M	2859		0.5	1							½								0.25	2735
4		Caruana,F	2766		0.5	1					½										0.25	2764
5		Giri,A	2764		0.5	1				½											0.25	2766
6		So,W	2760		0.5	1												½			0.25	2681
7		Aronian,L	2735		0.5	1			½												0.25	2859
8		Erigaisi Arjun	2722		0.5	1											½				0.25	2684
9		Maghsoodloo,P	2719		0.5	1										½					0.25	2696
10		Keymer,V	2696		0.5	1									½						0.25	2719
11		Praggnanandhaa R	2684		0.5	1								½							0.25	2722
12		Van Foreest,J	2681		0.5	1						½									0.25	2760
13		Rapport,R	2740		0.0	1		0													0.00	1913
14		Gukesh D	2725		0.0	1	0														0.00	2011
TBs: Sonneborn-Berger

All games - Masters

Abhi and Warmerdam score in the Challengers

Contrary to what was seen in the Masters, the two decisive games in the Challengers were won by the player who had the white pieces. It was a round filled with missed opportunities, as only Abhimanyu Mishra and Max Warmerdam ended the day with victories to their names. 

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Abhi, who became the youngest grandmaster in history in 2021, will turn 14 years old next month! In round 1, the US star got the better of Eline Roebers, the lowest-rated player in the field. You should not write Roebers off after this loss, though, as she has proven to be a fierce fighter in the past — her showing at the Chennai Olympiad is just one example.

The other winner of the day was Max Warmerdam. In his third outing in Wijk aan Zee, the Dutch player kicked off with a victory over Jergus Pechac. In 2022, Warmerdam scored 6½/13 points in the same event.

Abhimanyu Mishra | Photo: Jurriaan Hoefsmit / Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2023

Standings after round 1 - Masters

Rk.		Name	Rtg.	Nt.	Pts.	n	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	TB	Perf.
1		Warmerdam,M	2616		1.0	1													1		0.00	3437
2		Mishra,A	2559		1.0	1														1	0.00	3161
3		Tabatabaei,M	2686		0.5	1							½								0.25	2610
4		Sindarov,J	2654		0.5	1					½										0.25	2627
5		Donchenko,A	2627		0.5	1				½											0.25	2654
5		L'Ami,E	2627		0.5	1									½						0.25	2608
7		Adhiban,B	2610		0.5	1			½												0.25	2686
8		Yilmaz,M	2609		0.5	1										½					0.25	2585
9		Supi,L	2608		0.5	1						½									0.25	2627
10		Ivic,V	2585		0.5	1								½							0.25	2609
11		Beerdsen,T	2515		0.5	1												½			0.25	2425
12		Vaishali,R	2425		0.5	1											½				0.25	2515
13		Pechac,J	2637		0.0	1	0														0.00	1816
14		Roebers,E	2361		0.0	1		0													0.00	1759
TBs: Sonneborn-Berger

All games - Masters

Links

• Official site
• Tata Steel 2023: The youngest Wijk tournament of all time
• Ten trivia about the Tata Steel Tournament series, the Wimbledon of Chess