Nodirbek Abdusattorov led the 2023 Tata Steel Masters after every single round before the last, where he took a half-point lead into a game with White against the lowest-rated player. There was every chance he would wrap up victory with minimal fuss, but instead, we got a thriller. When the dust had settled, Anish Giri had won the trophy without the need for a playoff.

Final rankings:

After yesterday’s free day, the games will continue today from 14:00 CEST, and the live broadcast will start with 15-min delay due to the anti-cheating measures.

The 9th round brings interesting encounters: Nodirbek Abdusattorov will be black against Vincent Keymer, Anish Giri goes against Ding Liren, Wesley So will play black against Parham Maghsoodloo. // LIVE games

Round 9 pairings:

Parham Maghsoodloo – Wesley So
Magnus Carlsen – Gukesh D
Praggnanandhaa – Fabiano Caruana
Arjun Erigaisi – Richard Rapport
Levon Aronian – Jorden van Foreest
Vincent Keymer – Nodirbek Abdusattorov
Ding Liren – Anish Giri

After yesterday’s free day, the games will continue today from 14:00 CEST, and the live broadcast will start with 15-min delay due to the anti-cheating measures.

The 9th round brings interesting encounters: Velimir Ivic will play as black against top-seeded Amin Tabatabaei, Alexander Donchenko has white against Erwin L’Ami, Mustafa Yilmaz will be the favorite in his today’s game against Vaishali. // LIVE games

Round 9 pairings:

Amin Tabatabaei – Velimir Ivic
Thomas Beerdsen – Max Warmerdam
Alexander Donchenko – Erwin L’Ami
Javokhir Sindarov – Abhimanyu Mishra
Vaishali R – Mustafa Yilmaz
Adhiban B – Eline Roebers
Jergus Pechac – Luis Paulo Supi

Chess24 live video broadcast with commentaries by Peter Svidler and David Howell:

Featured photo by Lennart Ootes Tata Steel Tournament 2023

Abdusattorov yesterday played a draw against Levon Aronian. The 18-year-old Uzbekistani grandmaster had White pieces and reached a completely closed position without chances for a better result. The players agreed for a draw in the 31st move.

Magnus Carlsen won his second game in a row, this time against Fabiano Caruana. Carlsen, having black, equalized in the early middlegame. Caruana made a bad mistake with 22.Bc2 and Carlsen got the decisive advantage which he easily transformed into a victory.

Yesterday’s 8th round saw another three decisive results: Richard Rapport won against Praggnanandhaa, Jorden van Foreest defeated Arjun Erigaisi, and Gukesh claimed a victory against Parham Maghsoodloo.

Today is the second free day of the event, and games will continue tomorrow, January 24th, starting at 14:00 CEST.

Rankings after 8 played rounds:

Alexander Donchenko yesterday played a draw against Abhimanyu Mishra. It was a quick uneventful game which eventually finished in the 31st move.

Mustafa Yilmaz was victorious against Javokhir Sindarov with white pieces. Sindarov miscalculated the Rook sacrifice and Yilmaz achieved the decisive advantage.

Velimir Ivic won his game against Jergus Pechac. It seemed that Pechac has good chances for a draw, but he made a decisive mistake with 36…Kf8 and resigned a few moves later.

Indian grandmaster Adhiban B scored his first victory in the event, defeating Luis Paulo Supi with Black pieces. All the other games finished in a draw.

Today is the second free day of the event, and games will continue tomorrow, January 24th, starting at 14:00 CEST.

Rankings after 8 played rounds:

The 8th round starts today at 14:00 CEST, with the live broadcast starting with 15-min delay and brings interesting encounters. Donchenko will have black against Abhimanyu Mishra, Mustafa Yilmaz faces Javokhir Sindarov, and Velimir Ivic goes against Jergus Pechac. // LIVE games

Round 8 pairings:

Abhimanyu Mishra – Alexander Donchenko
Mustafa Yilmaz – Javokhir Sindarov
Velimir Ivic – Jergus Pechac
Erwin L’Ami – Thomas Beerdsen
Max Warmerdam – Amin Tabatabaei
Eline Roebers – Vaishali R
Luis Paulo Supi – Adhiban B

After yesterday’s free days for the Challengers, the players are coming back to the Wijk aan Zee playing venue and the sixth round starts at 14:00 CEST. LIVE games

Round 6 pairings:

Velimir Ivic – Adhiban
Jergus Pechac – Vaishali R
Luis Paulo Supi – Javokhir Sindarov
Eline Roebers – Alxander Donchenko
Mustafa Yilmaz – Thomas Beerdsen
Abhimanyu Mishra – Amin Tabatabaei
Erwin L’Ami – Max Warmerdam

Max Warmerdam and Abhimanyu Mishra emerged as the early leaders of the Challengers tournament as the only two players who scored victory in the first round. Warmerdam defeated Jergus Pechac in a miniature game which finished with mate in the 31st move, while Mishra scored against the lowest-rated player in the field IM Eline Roebers.

The rest of the games finished in a draw. Replay all games here / Replay Day 1 video coverage

Round 1 results:

Featured photo by © Jurriaan Hoefsmit – Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2023