The Tata Steel Masters concluded with Nodirbek Abdusattorov taking clear first place. He began the final round as sole leader and confirmed tournament victory by defeating Arjun Erigaisi with the black pieces in an interesting battle arising from the Evans Gambit. This meant there was no need for a blitz playoff, as his closest rival, Javokhir Sindarov, also won but remained half a point behind.
Sindarov beat Thai Dai Van Nguyen with black in the last round, completing a notable 1–2 finish for Uzbekistan. Abdusattorov scored 9/13, while Sindarov finished on 8½/13. Sindarov was the only player in either section to go through the lengthy event undefeated, scoring four wins and nine draws.
Three players shared third place on 7½/13, a full point behind Sindarov: Jorden van Foreest, Vincent Keymer and Hans Niemann. According to the tiebreak system, Van Foreest - the 2021 champion - took the official third-place position.
Javokhir Sindarov taking a stroll during the final round of what was yet another exciting event in Wijk aan Zee | Photo: Tata Steel Chess / Lennart Ootes
Abdusattorov's victory came after several near-misses in the last three editions of the tournament (i.e. all the editions in which he took part).
His scores in those editions were 8, 8½ and 8 points respectively. Fittingly, this year's 9/13 finally gave him clear first.
The 21-year-old produced a 2862 tournament performance rating, gained 19.5 rating points and climbed to fifth place in the live world rankings, only behind Magnus Carlsen, Hikaru Nakamura, Fabiano Caruana and Vincent Keymer. It is a shame that we will not get to see him playing in the forthcoming Candidates Tournament!
Sindarov's event was similarly impressive. His 8½/13 came with a 2833 TPR and a 19.4-point rating gain, lifting him to eleventh in the live list, a strong outcome ahead of the Candidates Tournament in March. After winning the FIDE World Cup last year, the 20-year-old proves once again his ability to perform strongly on the sport's biggest stages.
It was also a successful event for the players who finished on 7½/13.
Also finishing with plus scores were Matthias Bluebaum and Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus, both on 7/13. Bluebaum briefly crossed the 2700 live-rating mark during the tournament before ending on 2697.5 after a loss to Abdusattorov in round twelve and a final-round draw with Erdogmus. The 14-year-old Erdogmus, meanwhile, showed he can compete on equal terms with established elite players.
Vincent Keymer has a look at the Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu v. Jorden van Foreest game (draw) | Photo: Tata Steel Chess / Lennart Ootes
Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus | Photo: Tata Steel Chess / Lennart Ootes
Matthias Bluebaum | Photo: Tata Steel Chess / Lennart Ootes
The ever-fighting Arjun Erigaisi played the Evans Gambit against tournament leader - and eventual champion - Nodirbek Abdusattorov | Photo: Tata Steel Chess / Lennart Ootes
Javokhir Sindarov | Photo: Tata Steel Chess / Lennart Ootes
The Challengers section also produced a clear winner. Fifteen-year-old Andy Woodward defeated Erwin l'Ami with the white pieces in the final round to win the event and secure a place in next year's Masters. Woodward had started the day tied for first with Aydin Suleymanli and half a point ahead of Vasyl Ivanchuk.
Suleymanli's risky approach did not succeed against top seed Velimir Ivic, who won in 34 moves and finished on 6/13.
By the time the games had passed the time control, Suleymanli had already lost and Ivanchuk held a clearly superior position against Daniil Yuffa. That situation meant Woodward had to win to take first outright, since a tie with Ivanchuk would have given the Ukrainian victory on the first tiebreak (direct encounter), as there are no playoffs in the Challengers.
Woodward converted his advantage against l'Ami and finished with 10/13, a 2750 TPR and a 23.3-point rating gain, climbing to sixth in the live junior rankings. After losing in round one to Bibisara Assaubayeva, he recovered by scoring five consecutive wins. Notably, he also bounced back from his round-ten loss to Ivanchuk by beating Marc'Andria Maurizzi and l'Ami with white in rounds eleven and thirteen respectively.
Andy Woodward | Photo: Tata Steel Chess / Lennart Ootes
Vasyl Ivanchuk won the Masters section in Wijk back in 1996, when the event was still called Hoogovens Chess Tournament | Photo: Tata Steel Chess / Lennart Ootes
Velimir Ivic defeated Aydin Suleymanli with black | Photo: Tata Steel Chess / Lennart Ootes
Games start daily at 14:00 CET (7:00 ET, 20:30 IST), except for round 13, which starts two hours earlier than usual.
| Date | Day | Round |
| January 17 | Saturday | Round 1 |
| January 18 | Sunday | Round 2 |
| January 19 | Monday | Round 3 |
| January 20 | Tuesday | Round 4 |
| January 21 | Wednesday | Round 5 |
| January 22 | Thursday | Rest day |
| January 23 | Friday | Round 6 |
| January 24 | Saturday | Round 7 |
| January 25 | Sunday | Round 8 |
| January 26 | Monday | Rest day |
| January 27 | Tuesday | Round 9 |
| January 28 | Wednesday | Round 10 |
| January 29 | Thursday | Rest day |
| January 30 | Friday | Round 11 |
| January 31 | Saturday | Round 12 |
| February 1 | Sunday | Round 13 |
