Two Knights Talk: Winning and losing in Wijk aan Zee

by ChessBase
1/24/2025 – "Nothing is more difficult than winning a won game." The Tata Steel Tournament in Wijk aan Zee shows once again how true this seemingly paradoxical sentence is – and in their review of current events in the chess world Arne Kähler and Johannes Fischer therefore look at games from Wijk in which winning positions were lost. On this occasion, they also remember the Dutch grandmaster and legendary writer Jan Hein Donner, who knew a lot about this topic. Finally, the "Two Knights" take a short look at the dispute between FIDE and Freestyle Chess over the right to award world championship titles.
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Two Knights Talk

Time Stamps

0:48 - The current standings at the Tata Steel Chess Tournament
5:51 - Gukesh vs. Giri (From winning to losing)
12:47 - Mendonca vs. Keymer (From winning to losing)
19:29 - Erigaisi vs. Fedoseev (From winning to losing)
21:43 - Wijk aan Zee archives: Who won the most games in total?
25:08 - Jan Hein Donner, the King!
26:46 - Donner vs. Spanjaard (From winning to losing)
29:12 - How to win a won position?
35:30 - FIDE vs Freestyle chess: What is going on?
43:38 - Who will win the Tata Steel Chess Tournament?

Hoogovens Beverwijk 1963. The big winner Donner and clear runner-up David Bronstein have a chat. | Photo: Eric Koch, Anefo

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