Wijk aan Zee – who will win?

Corus January 2003

The Wijk aan Zee quiz is below.

The 65th Corus Chess Tournament 2003 will be held from 10–26 January 2003 in Wijk aan Zee. Rest days are on the 13th, 17th and 22nd January. The tournament venue is the De Moriaan Community Centre (Dorpsduinen 4, 1949 EG Wijk aan Zee). The average rating is 2701 = Category 19.

The prize fund

Players in the Grandmaster Group A

Picture	Player	Nat.	Elo	rank	short description
	Vladimir Kramnik	RUS	2807	2	All-round player, with an incredible feeling for positional chess. Hard to beat.
	Viswanathan Anand	IND	2753	3	Experienced player, who is able to press any opponent. Very quick thinker.
	Veselin Topalov	BUL	2743	4	Tough fighter with unlimited powers of concentration and self-confidence.
	Ruslan Ponomariov	UKR	2734	6	Good opening preparation, great understanding for different kind of positions. Very self-assured.
	Evgeny Bareev	RUS	2729	8	A professional through and through, sound strategic thinking and excellent technique. Always gives 100% of his energy.
	Alexey Shirov	ESP	2723	9	Exultant tactics are diminished by failing in positional or defensive struggles. Perhaps the most imaginative player in world chess today.
	Alexander Grischuk	RUS	2712	10	Relatively young but already a redoubted tournament player with an amazing combinatory talent and a fierce fighting spirit.
	Judit Polgar	HUN	2700	13	Self-assured player with great tactical prowess.
	Vassily Ivanchuk	UKR	2699	15	Unparalleled artistry and joy in the beauty of chess. Has produced countless brilliancies.
	Anatoly Karpov	RUS	2688	19	Outstanding natural talent for positional play, probably the world’s most experienced active grandmaster.
	Loek van Wely	NED	2668	30	Unparalleled fighting spirit and without fear of reputations.
	Michal Krasenkow	POL	2633	55	Erudite fighter with a vast amount of experience.
	Teymour Radjabov	AZE	2624	65	Youngest player to enter the top 100 in history. Very hard to beat and merciless in the attack.
	Jan Timman	NED	2594	110	All-round player with a surprisingly wide opening repertoire and an intuitive feeling for end-game positions.

More extensive information on each player is available on the official site.

Vladimir Kramnik	Viswanathan Anand
Veselin Topalov	Ruslan Ponomariov
Evgeny Bareev	Alexei Shirov
Alexander Grischuk	Judit Polgar
Vassily Ivanchuk	Anatoly Karpov
Loek van Wely	Michal Krasenkow
Teymour Radjabov	Jan Timman

Grandmaster B Tournament

GM Zhang Zhong (CHN, 2620), GM Peter Acs (HUN, 2591), GM Johnny Hector (SWE, 2590), GM Arkady Naiditsch (GER, 2586), GM Ian Rogers (AUS, 2557), GM Friso Nijboer (NED, 2556), GM Sergey Karjakin (UKR, 2527), GM John van der Wiel (NED, 2509), GM Dennis de Vreugt (NED, 2501), GM Koneru Humpy (IND, 2484), IM Viktorija Cmylite (LITH, 2460), IM Alexandra Kosteniuk (RUS, 2455), GM Harmen Jonkman (NED, 2456) and FM Daniel Stellwagen (NED, 2426).

Official site

Wijk aan Zee quiz

To take part in our special Wijk aan Zee Quiz you must answer the following questions:

1. Who will win this tournament. Please supply a reason for your conjecture.

2. Will Karpov score more than 50%? Why do or don't you think so?

3. How will the kid Teymour do? What is his future in chess?

4. Any other comments or opinions?

The winner will be the person with the most interesting or accurate answer. We may also simply draw a winner from all participants. You must send in your reply by Sunday night (12th January). No attachments please (Word or whatever). Do not send multiple entries. If more than two are received from any single person they will all be ignored. Give your full name and place of residence. Without this your entry cannot be considered. We reserve the right to quote your solution on this web site, in full or abridged, with your name and place of residence given. If you supply information on your professional status that might also be used.

Please send your answers to the ChessBase news team. The subject line must be "Wijk aan Zee quiz". The winner of the quiz will receive a copy of Fritz signed by the winner of Wijk aan Zee.