Tata Steel Chess 2021: A preview

Top-notch chess in a small fishing village

It was business as usual at the 2020 edition of the Tata Steel Chess Tournament, although things were about to take a dramatic turn for the worse. Now we are entering the second year of the coronavirus crisis, which means the 2021 tournament will be organized on a smaller scale — but it will take place nonetheless!

Wijk aan Zee is a small fishing village on the shores of the North Sea which once a year becomes the chess capital of the world, as the best players on the planet gather to fight for tournament victory, surrounded by hundreds of chess fans in the De Moriaan hall. Many chess fans attend the festival, not only because of the top-notch games, but also because it is often cold, wet and stormy outside in winter.

The tournament has existed since 1938, and originally it was played in nearby Beverwijk. Since then, it has been cancelled only once, at the end of the Second World War, in 1945. As the tournament grew, it moved from Beverwijk to Wijk aan Zee in 1968.

The sponsor of the tournament has always been the steel factory near Ijmuiden. The factory has had different owners, but all of them continued with the commitment. Now the factory belongs to the Indian Tata Group.

Just about every top player in recent history has participated in this event. Dutch stars Jan Donner, Loek van Wely, Jan Timman and Hans Ree have played the most games. Then comes Viswanathan Anand. This year, the 15th World Champion cannot be there, for obvious reasons.

The field of players competing this year in the large De Moriaan hall, which is not overcrowded this time, is phenomenal. The list is headed by World Champion Magnus Carlsen, who has overtaken Anand as the player with most tournament wins, having won the event seven times.

Then follows Fabiano Caruana, number 2 in the world ranking and defending champion. France’s number 1 Maxime Vachier-Lagrave is the third seed. 

There were a few changes to the original list of participants after it became clear that the pandemic would not permit travel from some countries. Pentala Harikrishna, who lives in the Czech Republic, will play instead of Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, while Radoslaw Wojtaszek, Nils Grandelius and Alexander Donchenko will replace Ian Nepomniachtchi, Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Daniil Dubov. 

The best Dutch player at the start is Anish Giri, while Jorden van Foreest will also represent the host country.

Fabiano Caruana and Magnus Carlsen during round 11 last year | Photo: Alina l’Ami

Participants