Tata Steel Masters 2016
November 3, 2015
In its 78th edition, it will take place from the 15 to 31 January 2016. Chess24 calls it the last surviving elite 14-player round robin.
The field:
Magnus Carlsen
Fabiano Caruana
Ding Liren
Anish Giri
Wesley So
Sergey Karjakin
Michael Adams
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov
Wei Yi
David Navara
Hou Yifan
Loek van Wely
Two players have yet to be announced.
The meeting of Wei Yi and Carlsen is eagerly anticipated. They may meet earlier at the Qatar Masters Open.
There is a clash with Tradewise Gibraltar 2016, which takes place January 25th to February 4. Nakamura, Anand, MVL, Li Chao, Harikrishna, Wojtaszek, Yu Yangi, Howell, Ni Hua and Fressinet will be there.
See: http://www.tatasteelchess.com
The official press release:
It has become a tradition to play two rounds of the Tata Steel Masters on prime locations like the Rijksmuseum or The Rotterdam. By doing so we broaden the appeal of the tournament and the sport of chess. This year the Tata Steel Masters will again play on two popular locations: the Railway Museum in Utrecht and Science Center NEMO in Amsterdam. Both locations appeal to young people. NEMO also fits Tata Steel’s policy to promote technology among young people. Talent development will be one of the main themes of the Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2016. Chess is a great way for young people to develop themselves. I look forward to the 78th edition of our tournament in January, which will see chess aficionados from all over the world unite around this fascinating sport.”
Strong field of participants Tata Steel Masters
With an average rating of 2750 (based on 12 out of 14 participants), the top tournament once again has a strong field of participants. Youth and experience will face off this time. Everybody will look at how Magnus Carlsen will perform, participating for the 12th time in Wijk aan Zee (since 2004 he has only been absent once, in 2014). Many chess lovers will anxiously await the fight between the world champion and one of the players who may succeed him sometime in the future: Wei Yi from China. The 16-year-old prodigy won the Tata Steel Challengers in 2015 in a very impressive way, thus obtaining a slot in this year’s Tata Steel Masters. His fast way to the top seems to be unbounded, since he is already on the threshold of the top 20. Wei Yi’s countrywoman and the world’s strongest female player, Hou Yifan, will participate in the main tournament for the third time.
Fighters
This time many fighters will participate in the Tata Steel Masters. Ding Liren managed to win no fewer than 7 of his 13 games during this year’s edition of the Tata Steel Chess Tournament, while Shakhryar Mamedyarov form Azerbaijan will return to Wijk aan Zee after an absence of several years. He is also known as a dangerous and aggressive player. The same goes for one of the favourite players of the chess audience, David Navara from the Czech Republic, who ended in second place right behind Wei Yi in the Tata Steel Challengers in this year’s edition.
Vying for the top spot
Magnus Carlsen can count on several players putting up a fierce fight, but under ‘normal conditions’ he is likely to face the toughest opposition from Fabiano Caruana and Anish Giri, the current Dutch champion. Giri landed a very good (shared) second place in the Tata Steel Masters in 2015. No doubt outsiders for the victory are strong young players Sergey Karjakin and Wesley So. Karjakin won the Tata Steel Chess Tournament in 2009 and has recently won the world cup in Baku, thus obtaining a spot in the Candidate Tournament in 2016. The winner of that tournament will be allowed to challenge world champion Magnus Carlsen.
’Veterans’
‘Veterans’ Loek van Wely (43) and Michael Adams (44) will add lustre to the tournament. At a time when chess players start performing at an increasingly younger age, it will be interesting to see how they can use their experience to take on the new generation. Adams is still one of the twenty best players in the world (number 18).
Other participants
The 13th player in the Tata Steel Masters will be the best player of the ACP Tour 2015 with a rating below 2750 on 1 December. The 14th player is likely to be announced in several weeks’ time. The participants of the Tata Steel Challengers will be announced in December.
Schedule
The Tata Steel Chess Tournament has two main tournaments. They are played according to the 'round robin' system, whereby each competitor plays in turn against every other during the tournament. The Tata Steel Masters has 14 participants and the Tata Steel Challengers has 14 participants. Both groups start on 16 January 2016. All rounds in Wijk aan Zee begin at 1.30pm, except for the last round on 31 January 2016, which begins at 12.00pm.
Time control
100 minutes for 40 moves, followed by 50 minutes for 20 moves. Then 15 minutes for the remaining moves with 30 seconds cumulative increment for each move starting from the first move. The time controls for the professional groups and amateur groups are different.
November 3, 2015
In its 78th edition, it will take place from the 15 to 31 January 2016. Chess24 calls it the last surviving elite 14-player round robin.
The field:
Magnus Carlsen
Fabiano Caruana
Ding Liren
Anish Giri
Wesley So
Sergey Karjakin
Michael Adams
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov
Wei Yi
David Navara
Hou Yifan
Loek van Wely
Two players have yet to be announced.
The meeting of Wei Yi and Carlsen is eagerly anticipated. They may meet earlier at the Qatar Masters Open.
There is a clash with Tradewise Gibraltar 2016, which takes place January 25th to February 4. Nakamura, Anand, MVL, Li Chao, Harikrishna, Wojtaszek, Yu Yangi, Howell, Ni Hua and Fressinet will be there.
See: http://www.tatasteelchess.com
The official press release:
It has become a tradition to play two rounds of the Tata Steel Masters on prime locations like the Rijksmuseum or The Rotterdam. By doing so we broaden the appeal of the tournament and the sport of chess. This year the Tata Steel Masters will again play on two popular locations: the Railway Museum in Utrecht and Science Center NEMO in Amsterdam. Both locations appeal to young people. NEMO also fits Tata Steel’s policy to promote technology among young people. Talent development will be one of the main themes of the Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2016. Chess is a great way for young people to develop themselves. I look forward to the 78th edition of our tournament in January, which will see chess aficionados from all over the world unite around this fascinating sport.”
Strong field of participants Tata Steel Masters
With an average rating of 2750 (based on 12 out of 14 participants), the top tournament once again has a strong field of participants. Youth and experience will face off this time. Everybody will look at how Magnus Carlsen will perform, participating for the 12th time in Wijk aan Zee (since 2004 he has only been absent once, in 2014). Many chess lovers will anxiously await the fight between the world champion and one of the players who may succeed him sometime in the future: Wei Yi from China. The 16-year-old prodigy won the Tata Steel Challengers in 2015 in a very impressive way, thus obtaining a slot in this year’s Tata Steel Masters. His fast way to the top seems to be unbounded, since he is already on the threshold of the top 20. Wei Yi’s countrywoman and the world’s strongest female player, Hou Yifan, will participate in the main tournament for the third time.
Fighters
This time many fighters will participate in the Tata Steel Masters. Ding Liren managed to win no fewer than 7 of his 13 games during this year’s edition of the Tata Steel Chess Tournament, while Shakhryar Mamedyarov form Azerbaijan will return to Wijk aan Zee after an absence of several years. He is also known as a dangerous and aggressive player. The same goes for one of the favourite players of the chess audience, David Navara from the Czech Republic, who ended in second place right behind Wei Yi in the Tata Steel Challengers in this year’s edition.
Vying for the top spot
Magnus Carlsen can count on several players putting up a fierce fight, but under ‘normal conditions’ he is likely to face the toughest opposition from Fabiano Caruana and Anish Giri, the current Dutch champion. Giri landed a very good (shared) second place in the Tata Steel Masters in 2015. No doubt outsiders for the victory are strong young players Sergey Karjakin and Wesley So. Karjakin won the Tata Steel Chess Tournament in 2009 and has recently won the world cup in Baku, thus obtaining a spot in the Candidate Tournament in 2016. The winner of that tournament will be allowed to challenge world champion Magnus Carlsen.
’Veterans’
‘Veterans’ Loek van Wely (43) and Michael Adams (44) will add lustre to the tournament. At a time when chess players start performing at an increasingly younger age, it will be interesting to see how they can use their experience to take on the new generation. Adams is still one of the twenty best players in the world (number 18).
Other participants
The 13th player in the Tata Steel Masters will be the best player of the ACP Tour 2015 with a rating below 2750 on 1 December. The 14th player is likely to be announced in several weeks’ time. The participants of the Tata Steel Challengers will be announced in December.
Schedule
The Tata Steel Chess Tournament has two main tournaments. They are played according to the 'round robin' system, whereby each competitor plays in turn against every other during the tournament. The Tata Steel Masters has 14 participants and the Tata Steel Challengers has 14 participants. Both groups start on 16 January 2016. All rounds in Wijk aan Zee begin at 1.30pm, except for the last round on 31 January 2016, which begins at 12.00pm.
Time control
100 minutes for 40 moves, followed by 50 minutes for 20 moves. Then 15 minutes for the remaining moves with 30 seconds cumulative increment for each move starting from the first move. The time controls for the professional groups and amateur groups are different.
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