1/17/2015 – It would be tempting to point out Carlsen's surge to equal first, among other results of the day, but what stood out was the sheer number of mistakes and blunders that plagued so many games. Saric lost a drawn game in two moves, Van Wely lost a won game to Ding Liren, Carlsen nearly botched a win, only to see Hou hallucinate and end it. And this was but a taste. Diagrams of many blunders!
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The Tata Steel Chess Tournament has two main tournaments. They are played according to the 'round robin' system, whereby each competitor plays in turn against every other during the tournament. The Tata Steel Masters has 14 participants and the Tata Steel Challengers has 14 participants. Both groups start on January 10th 2015 and the last round is on January 25th. All rounds in Wijk aan Zee begin at 13.30 hours, except for the last round on January 25th, which begins at 12.00 hours. The time control is 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.
Admission to the playing hall in Wijk aan Zee, Rotterdam and The Hague is free of charge
Round seven - Masters
Round 7 - Saturday Jan. 17
Ding, L. - Van Wely, L.
1-0
Saric, I. - Vachier-Lagrave
0-1
Giri, A. - Ivanchuk, V.
½-½
So, W. - Radjabov, T.
½-½
Wojtaszek, R. - Jobava, B.
0-1
Carlsen, M. - Hou, Y.
1-0
Aronian, L. - Caruana, F.
½-½
Daniel King shows the game Carlsen vs Hou Yifan
The audience trying to get a peek at the games
Behind them is the amateur section of the event
Saric, Ivan 0-1 Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime
A very complicated Najdorf! MVL's attack always seemed menacing, but Saric kept defending until he cracked in the following position:
Ivan Saric blundered after surviving for a long time
[Event "77th Tata Steel GpA"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2015.01.17"] [Round "7.1"] [White "Saric, Ivan"] [Black "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B90"] [WhiteElo "2666"] [BlackElo "2757"] [SetUp "1"] [FEN "5rk1/2Q2p1p/p5p1/6P1/5pBP/pq3P2/1P4R1/K7 b - - 0 30"] [PlyCount "5"] [EventDate "2015.01.10"] 30... Rb8 {After a tense game MVL has a cunning threat, but Saric seems unaware.} 31. Rd2 $4 (31. Qc1 axb2+ 32. Rxb2 Qa4+ 33. Kb1 Rd8 $1 34. Rd2 Rb8+ $11 {Is just a draw.}) 31... axb2+ 32. Kb1 Qa2+ {oops! Now White gets mated.} 0-1
Ding Liren 1-0 Van Wely, Loek
Van Wely had many opportunities to finish off the game in his favor, but after missing all of them he allowed Ding Liren back into the game. A trick set up by White caught Van Wely off-guard:
[Event "77th Tata Steel GpA"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2015.01.17"] [Round "7.2"] [White "Ding, Liren"] [Black "Van Wely, Loek"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A35"] [WhiteElo "2732"] [BlackElo "2667"] [SetUp "1"] [FEN "2rr2k1/4bpp1/7p/1p3q2/1n5P/1pNP1NP1/3BPPK1/R2Q4 w - - 0 38"] [PlyCount "83"] [EventDate "2015.01.10"] {Van Wely missed many wins, but probably the clearest was on this move:} 38. Rb1 Nc6 $2 (38... Nxd3 $1 39. exd3 Rxc3 40. Bxc3 Rxd3 {and White's position collapses completely. For example} 41. Bd2 Rxf3 42. Qxf3 Qxb1 {and White can simply resign.}) 39. e4 Qh5 $6 (39... Qc5 $1) 40. Nd5 Rxd5 41. exd5 Qxd5 42. Qxb3 Qxb3 43. Rxb3 b4 {A slightly better endgame...} 44. Kf1 f6 45. Rb1 Kf7 46. Ra1 Rb8 47. Be3 b3 48. Nd2 b2 49. Rb1 f5 50. Nc4 Bf6 51. Bc5 Bc3 $2 (51... Ra8 $1 52. Nxb2 Rb8 53. d4 Rb3 $1 $19 {and White's pieces simply cannot move.}) 52. Ke2 Nb4 53. d4 {Setting up a cunning trap.} Ke6 $2 {And falling for it!} (53... Nd5 $11) 54. Bxb4 Bxb4 (54... Rxb4 55. Kd3 {and the bishop is trapped. With the king on f7 this wouldn't have been an issue because of Be1, but here White takes it with check.}) 55. Rxb2 g5 56. h5 $1 { And Ding Liren did not forgive this winning endgame.} g4 57. Kd3 Bd6 58. Re2+ Kd7 59. Ne3 Rf8 60. Ra2 f4 61. Nxg4 fxg3 62. fxg3 Bxg3 63. Nxh6 Rf4 64. Rg2 Bf2 65. Rg4 Rf3+ 66. Ke2 Rf8 67. Re4 Kd6 68. Ng4 Bg1 69. Kd3 Rf3+ 70. Kc4 Ra3 71. h6 Ra4+ 72. Kc3 Ra3+ 73. Kb4 Rh3 74. Kc4 Rh4 75. d5 Be3 76. Nf6 Rh3 77. Re6+ Kc7 78. d6+ Kb7 79. d7 1-0
Wojtaszek, Radoslaw 0-1 Jobava, Baadur
A nice break for Jobava:
[Event "77th Tata Steel GpA"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2015.01.17"] [Round "7.3"] [White "Wojtaszek, Radoslaw"] [Black "Jobava, Baadur"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E11"] [WhiteElo "2744"] [BlackElo "2727"] [SetUp "1"] [FEN "r3r1k1/1b3ppp/p7/2Bqn3/P2QN1n1/1P6/6PP/1B1R1RK1 b - - 0 27"] [PlyCount "21"] [EventDate "2015.01.10"] 27... Qxd4+ {Wojtaszek has built up a strong advantage. He has the pair of bishops and a potential outside passed pawn.} 28. Bxd4 $2 {The hallucinations begin.} (28. Rxd4 $16) 28... Nxh2 $1 {The Pole must have missed this move.} 29. Rf5 $2 (29. Rf4 $11) (29. Kxh2 Bxe4 30. Bxe4 Ng4+ 31. Kg3 Rxe4 32. Rf4 Rxf4 33. Kxf4 h5 34. b4 {is complex.}) 29... Rad8 $1 30. Nc5 Nhf3+ $1 31. gxf3 Nxf3+ 32. Kf2 Rxd4 33. Rxd4 $2 (33. Rd3 $15) 33... Nxd4 34. Nxb7 Re2+ 35. Kf1 Rb2 { saving the bishop lands White in a hopeless endgame, but giving it up is no better.} 36. Rd5 Rxb1+ 37. Kf2 Ne6 0-1
Carlsen, Magnus 1-0 Hou Yifan
Carlsen outplayed Hou Yifan convincingly, but at one juncture he returned the game... his oppoennt, however, did not take full advantage of it!
Hou Yifan almost always travels with her mom to events
Magnus Carlsen tonic: Orange Juice
[Event "77th Tata Steel GpA"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2015.01.17"] [Round "7.4"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Hou, Yifan"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B32"] [WhiteElo "2862"] [BlackElo "2673"] [SetUp "1"] [FEN "6k1/2n2rp1/2qpp2p/p1P1p2Q/1p2P3/1P1N2RP/P4PP1/6K1 b - - 0 49"] [PlyCount "10"] [EventDate "2015.01.10"] 49... Nb5 {Hou Yifan has been outplayed. The structural weaknesses in Black's camp and the pressure on the kingside should cause Black to collapse} 50. Rg4 $2 {A big mistake!} (50. Qxh6 Qxe4 51. Qxe6 $18) 50... Nc3 $1 51. Qxh6 Nxe4 $4 {Gifting the game back.} (51... Qxe4 52. Rxe4 {What else?} (52. Qxe6 Qxd3 53. Qe8+ {is just a perpetual after 53.Rf8}) 52... gxh6 53. Rg4+ Kf8 54. cxd6 Rd7 55. Nxe5 Rxd6 {is very hard to win, considering a2 is hanging and Black is pretty active.}) 52. Qxe6 Nxf2 (52... Nxc5 53. Nxe5 {is crushing.} ) 53. Nxe5 Nxh3+ 54. Kh2 {Just avoiding the last trick.} (54. gxh3 Qxc5+ 55. Kh2 Qxe5+ $17) 1-0
Giri, Anish ½-½ Ivanchuk, Vassily
Ivanchuk reached a queen endgame that should have been easily drawn, yet somehow he managed to make it more, and more, and more complicated for himself! Eventually Giri managed to win a pawn and created some real winning chances, until he was actually winning:
Team Giri: on the left his coach, GM Tukmakov, and on the right his girlfriend, IM Guramashvili
So, Wesley ½-½ Radjabov, Teimour
The American missed a nice chance to increase the pressure, but it was not a blunder as appaling as what we have seen in the previous examples. Instead of putting up more pressure the liquidation led to a draw.
Aronian, Levon ½-½ Caruana, Fabiano
Aronian's aggression almost backfired as Caruana gobbled up the sacrificed pawn and started consolidating it. However, Caruana missed a couple of precise moves and let White back in the game. The resulting endgame was drawn with good play.
Before the tournament many could have predicted this duel to be one between
leaders, but it's pretty far from that actually
Select games from the dropdown menu above the board
Masters standings after seven rounds
Round seven - Challengers
Round 7 - Saturday Jan. 17
Timman, J. - Wei, Y.
0-1
Van Kampen, R. - Navara, D.
0-1
Michiels, B. - Dale, A.
1-0
Saleh, S. - Shankland, S.
½-½
Potkin, V. - Haast, A.
1-0
Gunina, V. - l' Ami, E.
1-0
Sevian, S. - Klein, D.
1-0
Replay Challengers games
The Challengers was as bloody as usual, going back to only having one draw per round. An unbelievable pace. Big victories for Wei Yi and Navara, who both win with Black and extend their lead. Michiels goes back to the scoreboard with a win over Dale while the only split point was between Saleh and Shankland.
Potkin defeated Haast while Gunina bounced back into the tournament with a big victory over l'Ami. Finally, the young prodigy Sevian also was able to score a full point.
Sagar Shah brings us his game of the round:
[Event "77th Tata Steel GpB"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2015.01.17"] [Round "7.1"] [White "Timman, Jan"] [Black "Wei Yi"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D91"] [WhiteElo "2593"] [BlackElo "2675"] [Annotator "Sagar Shah"] [PlyCount "70"] [EventDate "2015.01.10"] {This was a battle between the generations. On the White side was a 64-year-old legend who was facing a youngster four times younger than himself! Jan Timman in the 1980s was called the "best of the west"! And Wei Yi's talent needs no explanation when you get to know that he was the youngest player to break into 2600+ Elo range!} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. Bg5 { The Bg5 system against the Grunfeld Defense has a very topsy turvy relationship with me. Sometimes I see a smooth technical win like the one Carlsen-Eljanov and I think this is a wonderful opening for White and then I see a game like this one and I start loving the positions for Black. This just goes to show that the positions are complex and highly imbalanced.} Ne4 6. Bf4 Nxc3 7. bxc3 dxc4 8. e3 (8. Qa4+ {is the other way to retrieve the pawn but leads to a fine position for Black.} Nd7 9. Qxc4 c5 $132) 8... Be6 (8... b5 { saves the pawn but White is able to get excellent compensation.} 9. a4 c6 10. Qb1 $1 Bf5 11. e4 Bd7 12. Be2 {Black is worse because his bishop on d7 comes in the way of the most natural developing square for the knight on b8.} O-O 13. O-O a6 14. Bxc4 $1 $16 {White was clearly better as was seen in Eljanov-Aronian.}) 9. Qb1 b6 10. Ng5 Bd5 11. e4 h6 (11... Bb7 12. Bxc4 O-O 13. O-O $14 {White has a small edge thanks to his strong center.} (13. h4 $5 {looks interesting.})) 12. Nf3 (12. exd5 hxg5 13. Qb5+ (13. Bxg5 Qxd5 $17) 13... Qd7 14. Qxd7+ Nxd7 15. Bxg5 b5 16. a4 b4 $1 {Black has sufficient counterplay.}) 12... Be6 13. Be5 $5 {Trying to provoke some weaknesses in Black's camp.} f6 14. Bg3 O-O {Black currently has an extra pawn but White has a strong center and his pieces look better posted. White is behind in development and hence should try to quickly finish it. But instead of the solid Be2, Timman goes for the enterprising d5.} 15. d5 (15. Be2 f5 16. exf5 gxf5 17. O-O $14) 15... f5 $1 {Wei Yi is alert to the occasion and strikes back in the center, unleashing his powerful bishop on g7.} 16. Be5 (16. dxe6 $2 Bxc3+ 17. Ke2 f4 $1 18. Bh4 g5 $19) 16... Bf7 (16... fxe4 $6 {makes no sense because of} 17. dxe6 $1 exf3 18. Qxg6 $18) (16... Bxe5 17. Nxe5 Bf7 { transposes to the game.} 18. Bxc4 (18. exf5 Qxd5 $15) 18... Qd6 $132) 17. Bxc4 Bxe5 18. Nxe5 Qd6 {The important thing in this position is that White's center is falling apart. Which means that Timman has to be careful and steer the game into a safe position. But he is ambitious and that leads to his downfall.} 19. f4 Nd7 20. Nxd7 Qxd7 21. exf5 $6 (21. O-O {was simple and strong and the game would most probably end in a draw after something like} c6 22. exf5 gxf5 23. dxc6 Qxc6 24. Bxf7+ Rxf7 $11) 21... Bxd5 $1 {Did White just blunder a pawn? He cannot 0-0 because bishop on c4 is hanging. After Bxd5 Qxd5 once again he cannot 0-0 because he would be a pawn down after black takes on f5. This means that White should have something very specific in this position and Timman comes up with a very imaginative move.} 22. Qe4 Rxf5 $1 {Chinese players are cool, calm and confident. They believe in their calculations and are not scared of sharp and double edged positions. Here Wei Yi sees nothing wrong with taking the pawn on f5.} (22... c6 23. fxg6 $13) 23. O-O-O (23. g4 {could have been Timman's idea but I guess he missed Black's next move.} e6 $1 $17) (23. Rd1 e6 $17) 23... e6 24. Rhe1 Qf7 $1 {The most accurate way to keep the extra pawn.} (24... Bxe4 $2 25. Rxd7 $16) (24... c6 25. Bxd5 exd5 26. Qe6+ Qxe6 27. Rxe6 {would most probably lead to a drawish endgame.}) 25. Qd3 (25. Bxd5 exd5 26. Qe6 $17 {was the least of evils. But who would want to go into an endgame with a pawn less!} ) 25... Rd8 $1 26. Qg3 (26. g3 Rd6 $17) 26... Rxf4 {Now Black has two extra pawns while White has hardly any compensation.} 27. Bd3 g5 28. c4 Bxc4 $1 {You can bank on Wei Yi to finish the game in the most accurate fashion.} 29. Bh7+ Kxh7 30. Rxd8 Qf6 {White's king is just too exposed and the combination of bishop, rook and queen finish him off with ease.} 31. Rd7+ Kg6 32. Rxc7 Qa1+ 33. Kc2 Qxa2+ 34. Kc1 Qa1+ 35. Kc2 Rf2+ {The most human solution winning the queen!} (35... Rf2+ 36. Qxf2 Qa2+ 37. Kd1 Qxf2 38. Rxc4 Qxg2 $19 {The level of defense and play shown by the Chinese player was at a very high level. He just proved that incorrect sacrifices will not work against him. He is not afraid to just take offered pawns and ask his opponent, "So tell me where's the compensation!"}) 0-1
Michiels wins today and goes back to 50% (3.5/7)
A tough loss for Van Kampen, as this puts him 1.5 points away from the leaders
Anne Haast was unable to overcome the big rating difference today
Select games from the dropdown menu above the board
Challengers standings after seven rounds
Photos by Alina l'Ami for the official website
Schedule and results - Masters group
Round 1 - Saturday Jan. 10
Radjabov, T. - Van Wely, L.
½-½
Ivanchuk, V. - Jobava, B.
1-0
Vachier-Lagrave - Hou, Y.
1-0
Ding, L. - Caruana, F.
0-1
Saric, I. - Aronian, L.
½-½
Giri, A. - Carlsen, M.
½-½
So, W. - Wojtaszek, R.
½-½
Round 2 - Sunday Jan. 11
Van Wely, L. - Wojtaszek, R.
½-½
Carlsen, M. - So, W.
½-½
Aronian, L. - Giri, A.
½-½
Caruana, F. - Saric, I.
1-0
Hou, Y. - Ding, L.
0-1
Jobava, B. - Vachier-Lagrave
½-½
Radjabov, T. - Ivanchuk, V.
½-½
Round 3 - Monday Jan. 12
Ivanchuk, V. - Van Wely, L.
1-0
Vachier-Lagrave - Radjabov, T.
½-½
Ding, L. - Jobava, B.
1-0
Saric, I. - Hou, Y.
½-½
Giri, A. - Caruana, F.
½-½
So, W. - Aronian, L.
1-0
Wojtaszek, R. - Carlsen, M.
1-0
Round 4 - Tuesday Jan. 13
Van Wely, L. - Carlsen, M.
0-1
Aronian, L. - Wojtaszek, R.
½-½
Caruana, F. - So, W.
½-½
Hou, Y. - Giri, A.
½-½
Jobava, B. - Saric, I.
0-1
Radjabov, T. - Ding, L.
0-1
Ivanchuk, V. - Vachier-Lagrave
1-0
Round 5 - Thursday Jan. 15
Vachier-Lagrave - Van Wely, L.
½-½
Ding, L. - Ivanchuk, V.
½-½
Saric, I. - Radjabov, T.
0-1
Giri, A. - Jobava, B.
1-0
So, W. - Hou, Y.
½-½
Wojtaszek, R. - Caruana, F.
1-0
Carlsen, M. - Aronian, L.
1-0
Round 6 - Friday Jan. 16
Van Wely, L. - Aronian, L.
½-½
Caruana, F. - Carlsen, M.
0-1
Hou, Y. - Wojtaszek, R.
½-½
Jobava, B. - So, W.
0-1
Radjabov, T. - Giri, A.
½-½
Ivanchuk, V. - Saric, I.
½-½
Vachier-Lagrave - Ding, L.
1-0
Round 7 - Saturday Jan. 17
Ding, L. - Van Wely, L.
1-0
Saric, I. - Vachier-Lagrave
0-1
Giri, A. - Ivanchuk, V.
½-½
So, W. - Radjabov, T.
½-½
Wojtaszek, R. - Jobava, B.
0-1
Carlsen, M. - Hou, Y.
1-0
Aronian, L. - Caruana, F.
½-½
Round 8 - Sunday Jan. 18
Van Wely, L. - Caruana, F.
Hou, Y. - Aronian, L.
Jobava, B. - Carlsen, M.
Radjabov, T. - Wojtaszek, R.
Ivanchuk, V. - So, W.
Vachier-Lagrave - Giri, A.
Ding, L. - Saric, I.
Round 9 - Tuesday Jan. 20
Saric, I. - Van Wely, L.
Giri, A. - Ding, L.
So, W. - Vachier-Lagrave
Wojtaszek, R. - Ivanchuk, V.
Carlsen, M. - Radjabov, T.
Aronian, L. - Jobava, B.
Caruana, F. - Hou, Y.
Round 10 - Wednesday Jan. 21
Van Wely, L. - Hou, Y.
Jobava, B. - Caruana, F.
Radjabov, T. - Aronian, L.
Ivanchuk, V. - Carlsen, M.
Vachier-Lagrave - Wojtaszek
Ding, L. - So, W.
Saric, I. - Giri, A.
Round 11 - Friday Jan. 23
Giri, A. - Van Wely, L.
So, W. - Saric, I.
Wojtaszek, R. - Ding, L.
Carlsen, M. - Vachier-Lagrave
Aronian, L. - Ivanchuk, V.
Caruana, F. - Radjabov, T.
Hou, Y. - Jobava, B.
Round 12 - Saturday Jan. 24
Van Wely, L. - Jobava, B.
Radjabov, T. - Hou, Y.
Ivanchuk, V. - Caruana, F.
Vachier-Lagrave - Aronian, L.
Ding, L. - Carlsen, M.
Saric, I. - Wojtaszek, R.
Giri, A. - So, W.
Round 13 - Sunday Jan. 25
So, W. - Van Wely, L.
Wojtaszek, R. - Giri, A.
Carlsen, M. - Saric, I.
Aronian, L. - Ding, L.
Caruana, F. - Vachier-Lagrave
Hou, Y. - Ivanchuk, V.
Jobava, B. - Radjabov, T.
Schedule and results - Challengers group
Round 1 - Saturday Jan. 10
Shankland, S. - Wei, Y.
½-½
Dale, A. - Haast, A.
½-½
Navara, D. - l' Ami, E.
½-½
Timman, J. - Klein, D.
½-½
Van Kampen, R. - Sevian, S.
1-0
Michiels, B. - Gunina, V.
½-½
Saleh, S. - Potkin, V.
½-½
Round 2 - Sunday Jan. 11
Wei, Y. - Potkin, V.
1-0
Gunina, V. - Saleh, S.
1-0
Sevian, S. - Michiels, B.
0-1
Klein, D. - Van Kampen, R.
½-½
l' Ami, E. - Timman, J.
½-½
Haast, A. - Navara, D.
0-1
Shankland, S. - Dale, A.
½-½
Round 3 - Monday Jan. 12
Dale, A. - Wei, Y.
½-½
Navara, D. - Shankland, S.
½-½
Timman, J. - Haast, A.
0-1
Van Kampen, R. - l' Ami, E.
½-½
Michiels, B. - Klein, D.
0-1
Saleh, S. - Sevian, S.
½-½
Potkin, V. - Gunina, V.
1-0
Round 4 - Tuesday Jan. 13
Wei, Y. - Gunina, V.
1-0
Sevian, S. - Potkin, V.
1-0
Klein, D. - Saleh, S.
0-1
l' Ami, E. - Michiels, B.
1-0
Haast, A. - Van Kampen, R.
0-1
Shankland, S. - Timman, J.
½-½
Dale, A. - Navara, D.
0-1
Round 5 - Thursday Jan. 15
Navara, D. - Wei, Y.
½-½
Timman, J. - Dale, A.
1-0
Van Kampen - Shankland, S.
0-1
Michiels, B. - Haast, A.
1-0
Saleh, S. - l' Ami, E.
0-1
Potkin, V. - Klein, D.
1-0
Gunina, V. - Sevian, S.
0-1
Round 6 - Friday Jan. 16
Wei, Y. - Sevian, S.
1-0
Klein, D. - Gunina, V.
1-0
l' Ami, E. - Potkin, V.
½-½
Haast, A. - Saleh, S.
½-½
Shankland, S. - Michiels, B.
1-0
Dale, A. - Van Kampen, R.
0-1
Navara, D. - Timman, J.
1-0
Round 7 - Saturday Jan. 17
Timman, J. - Wei, Y.
0-1
Van Kampen, R. - Navara, D.
0-1
Michiels, B. - Dale, A.
1-0
Saleh, S. - Shankland, S.
½-½
Potkin, V. - Haast, A.
1-0
Gunina, V. - l' Ami, E.
1-0
Sevian, S. - Klein, D.
1-0
Round 8 - Sunday Jan. 18
Wei, Y. - Klein, D.
l' Ami, E. - Sevian, S.
Haast, A. - Gunina, V.
Shankland, S. - Potkin, V.
Dale, A. - Saleh, S.
Navara, D. - Michiels, B.
Timman, J. - Van Kampen, R.
Round 9 - Tuesday Jan. 20
Van Kampen, R. - Wei, Y.
Michiels, B. - Timman, J.
Saleh, S. - Navara, D.
Potkin, V. - Dale, A.
Gunina, V. - Shankland, S.
Sevian, S. - Haast, A.
Klein, D. - l' Ami, E.
Round 10 - Wednesday Jan. 21
Wei, Y. - l' Ami, E.
Haast, A. - Klein, D.
Shankland, S. - Sevian, S.
Dale, A. - Gunina, V.
Navara, D. - Potkin, V.
Timman, J. - Saleh, S.
Van Kampen, R. - Michiels, B.
Round 11 - Friday Jan. 23
Michiels, B. - Wei, Y.
Saleh, S. - Van Kampen, R.
Potkin, V. - Timman, J.
Gunina, V. - Navara, D.
Sevian, S. - Dale, A.
Klein, D. - Shankland, S.
l' Ami, E. - Haast, A.
Round 12 - Saturday Jan. 24
Wei, Y. - Haast, A.
Shankland, S. - l' Ami, E.
Dale, A. - Klein, D.
Navara, D. - Sevian, S.
Timman, J. - Gunina, V.
Van Kampen, R. - Potkin, V.
Michiels, B. - Saleh, S.
Round 13 - Sunday Jan. 25
Saleh, S. - Wei, Y.
Potkin, V. - Michiels, B.
Gunina, V. - Van Kampen, R.
Sevian, S. - Timman, J.
Klein, D. - Navara, D.
l' Ami, E. - Dale, A.
Haast, A. - Shankland, S.
Venues
The tournament has a slight change this year. Most of the rounds will be played in the traditional De Moriaan Community Centre in Wijk aan Zee, but two of the rounds will be played elsewhere. Last year the tournament traveled to the National Museum in Amsterdam and the High Tech Campus in Eindhoven.
This year the fifth round will be held in De Rotterdam. De Rotterdam is a building on the Wilhelminapier in Rotterdam, designed by Rem Koolhaas in 1998.
Rotterdam is ready to host Tata Steel!
The tenth round will be played in the International Press Cnetre Niewuspoort in the Hague. Councillor Karsten Klein of The Hague had this to say: "The Hague is honored to be able to host the Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2015 at the heart of the Dutch parliamentary democracy. Our city has a long history of international chess tournaments, a tradition which is continued in this manner. "
Commentary on Playchess
This being the first major event of the year, it is clear that we will be bringing you live commentary on our server www.playchess.com!
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.
Alejandro RamirezGrandmaster Alejandro Ramirez has been playing tournament chess since 1998. His accomplishments include qualifying for the 2004 and 2013 World Cups as well as playing for Costa Rica in the 2002, 2004 and 2008 Olympiads. He currently has a rating of 2583 and is author of a number of popular and critically acclaimed ChessBase-DVDs.
This course isn’t just another addition to your chess library—it’s the definitive guide to elevate your endgame play. From fundamental principles to advanced techniques, “Practical Endgames” covers every aspect of endgame strategy.
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Everything is based on concept and understanding rather than memorising. Once you understand the concept of a fortress, it will stay in your mind. Let's unlock the mystery of the fortress now!
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This isn’t just another chess tutorial—it’s your all-access pass to the strategies, insights, and techniques that define modern grandmaster play.
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