The first prestigious classical chess tournament of the year, Tata Steel Chess in Wijk Aan Zee, Netherlands, concluded and Hrtha Rajiv reporting for Her News provides a round-by-round recap.

BY HRTHA RAJIV - GREAT VALLEY MIDDLE SCHOOL - HL MEMBER & HN COLUMNIST

Tata Steel - The first prestigious classical chess tournament of the year, Tata Steel Chess in Wijk Aan Zee, Netherlands, began on January 14, 2022. For both of the two sections, masters and challengers, respectively, the first round was played on January 15, with each section having a field of fourteen players. The Tata Steel Masters field is composed of Magnus Carlsen, Fabiano Caruana, Anish Giri, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, Richard Rapport, Jan-Krzysztof Duda, Sergey Karjakin, Vidit Gujrathi, Daniil Dubov, Andrey Esipenko, Sam Shankland, Jordan van Foreest, Nils Grandelius and Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu. The Tata Steel Challengers field contains Arjun Erigaisi, Rinat Jumabayev, Erwin L’ami, Thai Dai Van Nguyen, Jonas Buhl Bjerre, Lucas Van Foreest, Volodar Murzin, Polina Shuvalova, Jiner Zhu, Max Warmerdam, Surya Shekhar Ganguly, Daniel Dardha, Marc’Andria Maurizzi and Roven Vogel. Games were played from January 15 through January 30, with rest days on the 19, 24 and 27.

Tata Steel Chess Round 1

The first round in the Tata Steel Masters section began with two wins, with Vidit Gujrathi and Jan-Krzystof Duda starting off with wins against Sam Shankland and Richard Rapport respectively. Grandmaster Gujrathi won a seventy-three move endgame grind against Grandmaster Shankland, and Grandmaster Duda won against Richard Rapport with a scorching kingside attack against his creative opponent. The World Champion had a relatively short and uneventful twenty one move draw against Andrey Esipenko, who is one of the few players with a positive score against him. Grandmasters Sergey Karjakin and Fabiano Caruana agreed to a draw after fifty moves in a famously drawn rook endgame with a three versus two majority for Karjakin.Grandmasters Anish Giri and Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu also agreed to a draw in a rook endgame with equal material after forty-four moves. The final game in the section, Grandmaster Daniil Dubov versus Grandmaster Shakhriyar Mamedyarov was a draw after thirty moves in an interesting position where Mamedyarov was up a piece and had a passed pawn ready to promote.

Tata Steel Chess Round 2

In round two of the Tata Steel Masters, the results were more peaceful than the opening round with just two decisive games and five draws. One of the winners of the round was none other than World Champion Magnus Carlsen against Dutch number one Anish Giri in a thirty-six move endgame. The other victor of the round was Richard Rapport against last year’s Dutch winner Jordan Van Foreest in knight endgame after Van Foreest blundered on move thirty-five, leading to Rapport’s victory twelve moves later. One of the games drawn was between Fabiano Caruana and Vidit Gujrathi. The game ended after 27 moves in a three-move repetition draw. The game played between Grandmasters Jan-Krzysztof Duda and Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu ended in a draw after forty moves in a game where neither player had a chance to win. Russian Grandmaster Andrey Esipenko defended a sharp attack from Grandmaster Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and a draw was agreed to after twenty-six moves. Karjakin and Dubov also drew their game after twenty-three moves in a quiet rook endgame. In the final game, Shankland played the English against Grandelius and, though both players had a slight edge , the game fizzled out to a draw after forty-five moves.

Tata Steel Chess Round 3

Tata Steel Masters was a bloodbath in round three, with four decisive games and three draws. Overall, it was a very exciting round in regards to all of the games. The game between Dubov and Gujrathi was full of fireworks, with Dubov sacrificing an exchange on move twenty-one. Later in the game, however, he blundered into a losing position on move thirty-two. The game concluded in a win for Gujrathi after five more moves. Grandmaster Van Foreest beat his opponent Grandmaster Rameshbabu, with the latter being lost after move twenty-five. Eventually, he was not able to hold a rook endgame. The game finished after fifty-six moves. In a game between compatriots, Esipenko beat Karjakin after the minister of defense shockingly blundered a piece on move thirty-one, with Esipenko converting the game in an additional eleven moves. The final winner of the round was Rapport, after he beat Grandelius in a fast paced attack out of a Taimanov Scillian. When Grandelius resigned after thirty-one moves, Rapport had a mate-in-five. The draws between Carlsen and Duda, Caruana and Shankland, and Giri and Mameydrov were all games in which neither player really had a chance to win.

Tata Steel Chess Round 4

The players were far more reserved before the rest day than they were the day before, with this round having two winners. In the game between Mameydrov and Duda, the scales were tilted in favor of Duda until he blundered on move thirty-one in a rook and two minor pieces endgame and Mameydrov brought home the point on move forty-one. The second winner was P. Rameshbabu, whose opponent was Nils Grandelius, who played the Grünfeld Defense. The former won a smooth game in sixty-four moves. The remaining games were hard fought draws between Carlsen and Van Foreest, Gujarati and Esipenko, Shankland and Rapport, Caruana and Dubov, and Karjakin and Giri.

Tata Steel Chess Round 5

Round five of Tata Steel Masters had a similar result to the previous round with two decisive games and five draws. Mameydrov bounced back from his loss and beat Van Foreest after he blundered badly on move thirty-five. Van Foreest resigned on move forty-four. The other winner was Rapport, who beat Rameshbabu in a rook and minor piece endgame after fifty-six moves. The games between Gujrathi and Giri, Carlsen and Grandelius, Caruana and Esipenko, Karjakin and Duda, and Shankland and Dubov were all balanced and they all ended in a draw.

Tata Steel Chess Round 6

This round was relatively peaceful compared to other rounds with four draws, two wins for white and a win for black. One of the players who won with the white pieces was Carlsen, who played against Rapport. Rapport made a series of inaccuracies that eventually led to Carlsen getting a passed b-pawn, prompting Rapport’s resignation on move thirty-one. The other of the two games won by white was played between Karjakin and Van Foreest. Karjakin got an advantage in the middle game and maintained his advantage through the endgame, winning the game after sixty-five moves. The only win with the black pieces was from Giri in his game against Caruana. The game featured a series of inaccuracies from both players. Eventually, Caruana hung his rook. The game was over after fifty-one moves. The drawn games were between Gujrathi and Duda, Mameydrov and Grandelius, Dubov and Esipenko, and Shankland and Pragganandhaa. Each of these games had an equal fight between both players, but none of the players had a chance at an advantage.

Tata Steel Chess Round 7

In this round there was one forfeit for the round, two wins for black, a win for white and three draws, in what was yet another round with many entertaining games. Grandmaster Daniil Dubov forfeited a game against Grandmaster Anish Giri due to COVID-related regulations. The sole win for white was in the game between Van Foreest and Gujrathi, the latter of whom made a series of errors, leading to a forty-three move game. One of the wins with the black pieces came from none other than Magnus Carlsen, who was playing against R.Praggnanandhaa. This was a smooth win for the World Champion, who seized an opportunity, and it was smooth sailing for him from then on. The other win with black came from Caruana, who defeated Duda’s London System after Duda blundered on move forty-one. The game ended after fifty-three moves. The games that were draws were between Rapport and Mameydrov, Esipenko and Shankland, and Grandelius and Karjakin.

Tata Steel Chess Round 8

Yet again, this round saw two wins for white, one win for black and four draws. One of the winners was Mameydrov, who played Rameshbabu. Mameydrov sacrificed a pawn for a winning attack and wrapped up the game in forty-six moves. Bouncing back from a loss, Gujarati won his game against Grandelius. The former ended up with a passed pawn when his game ended after the thirty-fourth game. The only win for black came from Giri against Esipenko, where Giri won an endgame in which he had three pawns for a knight, giving him a kingside majority. This advantage won the game for him after forty-nine moves. The four draws of the round were between Shankland and Carlsen, Karjakin and Rapport, Caruana and Van Foreest, and Dubov and Duda.

Tata Steel Chess Round 9

In round nine of Tata Steel Masters, there were two wins for both white and black as well as a total of three draws. The first win for white came in the game between Carlsen and Mameydrov, where the latter’s attack ended up giving the world champion a winning position. The game lasted twenty-seven moves. The second person to win with white was Giri, who beat Shankland after the latter made a fatal mistake on move thirty. Giri won the point on move thirty-four. One of the players to win with black was Karjakin against Rameshbabu, who won an endgame up an exchange after fifty-three moves. The other player to win with black was Caruana, who beat Grandelius in a rook endgame after forty-four moves. The players that split the point in their games were Rapport and Gujrathi, Esipenko and Duda, and Dubov and Van Foreest.

Tata Steel Chess Round 10

In round ten of the Tata Steel Masters, the players with black had three wins, compared to one player winning with white. There were also three draws. In a seventy-eight move endgame grind, P. Rameshbabu beat his compatriot V. Gujrathi to take home the point with the black pieces. The 2018 former world championship challenger Caruana lost to Rapport in forty-two moves in a rook and minor piece endgame. The final winner with black was Grandelius, who beat Dubov in a long-winded endgame. Grandelius finally wore down his opponent after eighty-two moves. The games with a result of a draw were Karjakin vs. Carlsen, Giri vs. Duda and Shankland vs. Mameydarov.

Tata Steel Chess Round 11

With just two more rounds to go, the players were considerably more cautious. The round ended with two wins, one for each color, and four draws. Unfortunately, Dubov forfeited his game against Rapport due to COVID-related reasons. In the all-Dutch clash, Van Foreest beat Giri just like he did last year in the armageddon match. This time, however, Giri risked his king’s safety on move twenty-five, leading to his loss on move forty-two. The other winner was Caruana, who beat P. Rameshbabu in a queen and minor piece endgame in forty-six moves. The games with a neutral result were Carlsen vs. Gujrathi, Mameydarov vs Karjakin, Grandelius vs. Esipenko, and Duda vs. Shankland.

Tata Steel Chess Round 12

In this round the games were equally split, with three decisive games and three draws. Dubov forfeited his game against P. Rameshbabu, as well. In a powerhouse matchup, Carlsen defeated Caruana. Carlsen had a large advantage from move thirty, and he held onto it until the game concluded on move forty-nine. Mameydarov also won with black against Gujrathi at the game’s end on move thirty-eight. Mameydarov was up a minor piece. The final decisive game was the one between Shankland and Karjakin. Karjakin appeared to stumble on move seventeen, and he lost the game on move twenty-six. The draws were between Esipenko and Rapport, Giri and Grandelius, and Duda and Van Foreest.

Tata Steel Chess Round 13

It seems that the players still had a fire burning in the final round, with three games having a winner and three games being drawn. Carlsen received a forfeit win against Dubov. The matchup of the young talents saw Rameshbabu beating Esipenko. The former won the game in an endgame after fifty-nine moves. Karjakin finished the tournament strong with a win against Gujrathi in an endgame after sixty-four moves. The final decisive game was between Van Foreest and Shankland. Van Foreest had a mate-in-nine when Shankland resigned on move sixty-nine. The games that were drawn were between Giri and Rapport, Mameydraov and Caruana, and Duda and Grandelius.

The Final Results

After such instructional and interesting games, it’s slightly sad to know that the chess community must wait another year to see this tournament again –– hopefully returned to its full scale. That, of course, begs the question of who won the two sections held this year. In the Tata Steel Masters section, Magnus Carlsen won his eighth title in Wijk aan Zee with a score of 9.5/13, and in the Challengers section, Arjun Erigaisi won with a score of 10.5/13. That’s all for the 2022 Tata Steel Chess Masters & Challengers. I hope you enjoyed this recap!

Her News Recaps the Tata Steel 2022 Chess Tournament

The first prestigious classical chess tournament of the year, Tata Steel Chess in Wijk Aan Zee, Netherlands, concluded and Hrtha Rajiv reporting for Her News provides a round-by-round recap.

BY HRTHA RAJIV - GREAT VALLEY MIDDLE SCHOOL - HL MEMBER & HN COLUMNIST

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