Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2021

**Wayne Komer** · Sunday, 10th January, 2021, 01:41 PM

Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2021

January 10, 2021

Schedule

Round 1 Sat 16 Jan
Round 2 Sun 17 Jan
Round 3 Mon 18 Jan
Round 4 Tue 19 Jan
Rest Day Wed 20 Jan
Round 5 Thu 21 Jan
Round 6 Fri 22 Jan
Round 7 Sat 23 Jan
Round 8 Sun 24 Jan
Rest Day Mon 25 Jan
Round 9 Tue 26 Jan
Round 10 Wed 27 Jan
Rest Day Thu 28 Jan
Round 11 Fri 29 Jan
Round 12 Sat 30 Jan
Round 13 Sun 31 Jan

https://tatasteelchess.com/playing-schedule/

The four debutants in the Masters Tournament

David Anton Guijarro (25), currently number 56 in the world rankings, won the Tata Steel Challengers in January 2020, which qualified him for the Tata Steel Masters 2021.

Andrey Esipenko (18), currently number 60 on the world ranking, became both European Champion and World Champion U16 in 2017 and became GM in 2018. In 2019 he competed in the Tata Steel Challengers and finished second.

Nils Grandelius (27), currently number 81 on the world ranking, played the Tata Steel Challengers last year, finishing 9th. He is top-ranked player of Sweden.

Aryan Tari (21), a countryman of Magnus Carlsen and currently number 156 on the world ranking, is back in Wijk aan Zee after an absence of two years. In 2018 he played for the last time in the Tata Steel Challengers, finishing 10th.

Commentator schedule

Rounds 1-6
GM Daniel Naroditsky and WIM Fiona Steil-Antoni

Round 7
GM Simon Williams and FM Tex de Wit

Rounds 8-13
GM Robert Hess and IM Sopiko Guramishvili

All rounds start at 14.00 (CET) in Wijk aan Zee, except for Sunday the 31st when the round starts at 13.00 (CET).

Rounds start at 8:00 AM in Toronto/Montreal.

Revised List of Participants

Magnus Carlsen, Fabiano Caruana, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Anish Giri,
Alireza Firouzja, Jan-Krzysztof Duda, Pentala Harikrishna, Daniil Dubov,
Radoslaw Wojtaszek, David Anton Guijarro, Andrey Esipenko,
Jorden Van Foreest, Nils Grandelius, Aryan Tari

**Hans Jung** · Sunday, 10th January, 2021, 01:46 PM

Are there going to be three different levels of grandmaster tournaments (as always in the recent past)?

**Wayne Komer** · Sunday, 10th January, 2021, 02:02 PM

Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2021

January 10, 2021

Due to restrictions related to the pandemic, the Masters' tournament is the only event that will be held on-site.

Unlike at the Norway Chess tournament in October, the players do not have to arrive in the Netherlands 10 days early for their quarantine period. Because the tournament has a special "top sport" status, the players are allowed to perform their sport while finishing their quarantine. They do have to deliver a negative test result for COVID-19 that is not older than 48 hours from their country of origin.

For playing conditions, the Tata Steel organizers will follow the model of Norway Chess, meaning that there will be no plexiglass placed over the board, and face masks won't be mandatory during play. Instead, the tables will be a bit wider to provide more distance between opponents, and the distance between the tables will be increased as well.

**Wayne Komer** · Friday, 15th January, 2021, 04:40 PM

Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2021

January 15, 2021

From the official site:

Donchenko replaces Dubov

22-year-old Alexander Donchenko will see a dream come true, making his debut in the Tata Steel Masters. The talented German chess player (71st on the world ranking) was at home when he was caught by surprise by a phone call from tournament director Jeroen van den Berg on Thursday.

The latter had just heard that Daniil Dubov had cancelled, due to someone close to him testing positive for COVID-19, and was frantically looking for a replacement. Donchenko immediately accepted and (after having undergone a COVID-19 test) was picked up at home to be driven to Wijk aan Zee. Quite recently the young German managed to win a classical chess tournament with a score of 8 out of 9.

https://tatasteelchess.com/news/a-dr...der-donchenko/

Drawing of Lots

The official drawing of lots took place in the Tata Steel Chess Tournament playing hall in Wijk aan Zee. The results of the drawing of lots are officially approved by the arbitration. Based on the drawing of lots the playing schedule for the 13 rounds has been made.

Already in the first round, there will be some exciting games. World Champion Magnus Carlsen will play against top talent Alireza Firouzja and Harikrishna Pentala will face Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. Defending champion Fabiano Caruana will meet the Dutch Grand Master Jorden van Foreest.

The games will start on the 16th of January at 14:00 (CET). Chess enthusiasts can follow the games via our international live stream.

Round 1, Saturday 16 January

Harikrishna-MVL
Esipenko-Duda
Grandelius-Donchenko
Caruana-Van Foreest, J.
Giri-Tari
Wojtaszek-Anton Guijarro
Carlsen-Firouzja

Round 2, Sunday 17 January

MVL-Firouzja
Anton Guijarro-Carlsen
Tari-Wojtaszek
Van Foreest-Giri
Donchenko-Caruana
Duda-Grandelius
Harikrishna-Esipenko

Round 3, Monday 18 January

Esipenko-MVL
Grandelius-Harikrishna
Caruana-Duda
Giri-Donchenko
Wojtaszek-Van Foreest
Carlsen-Tari
Firouzja-Anton Guijarro

Round 4 Tuesday 19 January

MVL-Anton Guijarro
Tari-Firouzja
Van Foreest-Carlsen
Donchenko-Wojtaszek
Duda-Giri
Harikrishna-Caruana
Esipenko-Grandelius

Tuesday 1 January Rest Day

Correction made in pairings schedule - WK

**Guest** · Saturday, 16th January, 2021, 02:05 AM

I am chess lover and It is good for me when it will see it live

**John Coleman** · Saturday, 16th January, 2021, 02:25 AM

May I point out that the pairings listed above are off by one day... round 1 is Saturday 16th, round 2 is Sunday, etc.

**Amit R** · Saturday, 16th January, 2021, 09:44 AM

OK, commentary is finally live.

**Wayne Komer** · Saturday, 16th January, 2021, 01:08 PM

Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2021

January 16, 2021

Round One

Tata Steel Masters 2021
Round 1, Jan. 16
Carlsen, Magnus – Firouzja, Alireza
E10 Queen’s Pawn game

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Nbd7 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bh4 Be7 7.cxd5 Nxd5 8.Bxe7 Qxe7 9.e4 Nxc3 10.bxc3 O-O 11.Bd3 c5 12.O-O cxd4 13.cxd4 b6 14.a4 Bb7 15.a5 bxa5 16.Rxa5 Nf6 17.Re1 Rfd8 18.Qa1 Qc7 19.h3 a6 20.Rc5 Qf4 21.Re5 Nd7 22.Ra5 Nf6 23.d5 exd5 24.e5 Ne4 25.Qd4 Rdc8 26.Raa1 a5 27.Rab1 Bc6 28.e6 fxe6 29.Ne5 Qf6 30.f3 Ng5 31.Rb6 Be8 32.Qe3 a4 33.Ng4 Qd8 34.Rxe6 Nxe6 35.Qxe6+ Bf7 36.Nxh6+ gxh6 37.Qxh6 Qc7 38.Qh7+ Kf8 39.Qh8+ Bg8 40.Qh6+ 1-0

Position after White’s 35.Qxe6+

Firouzja is slightly ahead but here plays the natural 35…Bf7 instead of Kh8 and is lost.

Comments

- Magnus is taking risks sacrificing a pawn first on d5 and then e6! "I would say he is completely winning... if he wasn't two pawns down" (Leko)

- It’s almost 2AM in Tokyo. Still enjoying #TataSteelChess and my sake. Commentary is top notch.

- "Justice exists in chess!" (Leko)
Alireza Firouzja blunders and Magnus Carlsen crowns a bold game with a crucial victory!

- “It’s just too naive. I cannot even imagine you how you can play a5-a4”. Leko called it long before the end. Hope he gets more gigs commentating.

(to be continued)

**Wayne Komer** · Saturday, 16th January, 2021, 03:16 PM

Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2021

January 16, 2021

Round One (continued)

Round 1, Jan. 16
Wojtaszek, Radoslaw – Anton Guijarro, David
E00 Catalan Opening

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.g3 Bb4+ 5.Bd2 Be7 6.Bg2 Nbd7 7.Qc2 c6 8.O-O b6 9.Rd1 Ba6 10.b3 O-O 11.a4 h6 12.a5 Qc8 13.Na3 c5 14.Qb2 bxa5 15.Bxa5 Rb8 16.Qa2 dxc4 17.Nxc4 Bb7 18.Rdc1 Bd5 19.Bd2 Ne4 20.Bf4 Rb7 21.Nfd2 Nxd2 22.Bxd5 exd5 23.Nxd2 Qd8 24.Qa6 Qb6 25.Be3 Rfb8 26.Qd3 cxd4 27.Bxd4 Bc5 28.Bxc5 Nxc5 29.Qxd5 Nxb3 30.Nxb3 Qxb3 31.Qxb3 Rxb3 32.Rxa7 Rb1 33.Rxb1 Rxb1+ 34.Kg2 h5 35.Kf3 g6 36.h4 Kg7 37.e4 Rb3+ 38.Kf4 Rb2 39.f3 Rb4 40.Ra5 Kf6 41.g4 hxg4 42.Kxg4 Rb1 43.h5 Rg1+ 44.Kf4 gxh5 45.Rxh5 Ra1 46.Rh6+ Kg7 47.Rd6 Ra3 48.e5 Ra4+ 49.Kf5 Ra3 50.f4 Ra5 51.Kg5 Rb5 52.Rd7 Ra5 53.Kg4 Kf8 54.Kf5 Kg7 55.Ke4 Kf8 56.f5 Ke8 57.Rc7 Ra1 58.Kf4 Rg1 59.Rb7 f6 60.Rb8+ Ke7 61.Rb7+ Ke8 62.e6 Rf1+ 63.Ke4 Re1+ 64.Kd5 Rd1+ 65.Kc4 Rc1+ 66.Kd3 Rd1+ 67.Kc4 Rc1+ 1/2-1/2

- The beautiful 59...f6! saw David Anton seal a draw against Radek Wojtaszek!

Round 1, Jan. 16
Harikrishna, Pentala – MVL
B0 Sicilian, Najdorf, Byrne Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be3 e5 7.Nf3 Be7 8.Bc4 O-O 9.O-O Be6 10.Bb3 b5 11.Re1 Qc7 12.Nh4 Nbd7 13.Nf5 Bxf5 14.exf5 b4 15.Nd5 Nxd5 16.Bxd5 Rab8 17.Bb3 a5 18.Qf3 Nb6 19.Rad1 Bf6 20.Bxb6 Rxb6 21.Rd5 Rc6 22.Red1 h6 23.Ba4 Rc4 24.Rxd6 Rf4 25.Qe2 Rxf5 26.g3 e4 27.Qxe4 Qc5 28.Qe2 Bxb2 29.Bb3 Bc3 30.R1d5 Rxd5 31.Rxd5 Qa7 32.Qd3 Be1 33.Qe2 Bc3 34.Qd3 Be1 35.Qe3 Qxe3 36.fxe3 Re8 37.Rxa5 Kf8 38.Rf5 f6 39.Rf3 Bc3 40.h3 Be5 41.Kg2 Rd8 42.Rf2 Ke7 43.g4 Rd1 44.c3 Rd3 45.cxb4 Rxe3 46.Rf3 Rxf3 47.Kxf3 Bc3 48.a3 Bb2 49.a4 Bc3 50.b5 Kd6 51.Ke4 Kc5 52.Kf5 g5 53.Kg6 Kb6 54.Kxh6 Bb2 55.Kg6 Bc3 56.Kf5 Bd4 57.Bc2 Bb2 58.Ke6 Bc3 59.Kd5 Bd2 60.Bd3 Bc3 61.Ke6 Bb2 62.Kd5 Bc3 63.Be2 Bd2 64.Ke4 1/2-1/2

Round 1, Jan. 16
Esipenko, Andrey – Duda, Jan-Krzysztof
C42 Petrov, Classical Attack

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.d4 d5 6.Bd3 Bf5 7.O-O Be7 8.Re1 O-O 9.Nbd2 Nd6 10.Nf1 c6 11.Bf4 Bxd3 12.Qxd3 Nd7 13.Qb3 Nb6 14.a4 Nbc4 15.Ne5 Nxe5 16.dxe5 Ne4 17.Ng3 Nxg3 18.Qxg3 Re8 19.Rad1 Qd7 20.c4 Bb4 21.Bh6 Bf8 22.Be3 Qf5 23.cxd5 Rxe5 24.dxc6 bxc6 25.Rc1 Rae8 26.Red1 Qe4 27.Qf4 Qxf4 28.Bxf4 Re4 29.Be3 Rxa4 30.Rxc6 Rb4 1/2-1/2

Round 1, Jan. 16
Grandelius, Nils – Donchenko, Alexander
C50 Giuoco Piano

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.O-O d6 6.c3 a6 7.Re1 Ba7 8.Nbd2 O-O 9.Nf1 Na5 10.Bb3 Nxb3 11.axb3 c6 12.Ng3 h6 13.h3 Be6 14.d4 Re8 15.Be3 d5 16.exd5 exd4 17.Bxd4 Qxd5 18.Bxf6 Qxd1 19.Raxd1 gxf6 20.b4 Red8 21.Ne4 Kg7 22.Nc5 Bxc5 23.bxc5 f5 24.Nd4 Kf6 25.Ra1 a5 26.Ra4 Rd5 27.b4 Ra6 28.Nxe6 fxe6 29.Rea1 Ke5 30.Re1+ Kf6 31.Rea1 Ke5 32.Rxa5 Rxa5 33.Rxa5 Ke4 34.Ra7 Rd1+ 35.Kh2 Rd7 36.Ra1 Rd2 37.Re1+ Kd3 38.Re3+ Kc4 39.f4 h5 40.Kg3 Rd3 41.Rxd3 Kxd3 42.Kh4 Ke3 43.g3 Kf2 44.g4 hxg4 45.hxg4 fxg4 46.Kxg4 Ke3 47.Kg5 1-0

Round 1, Jan. 16
Giri, Anish – Tari, Aryan
C65 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defence

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.Bxc6 dxc6 6.O-O Bg4 7.h3 Bh5 8.g4 Nxg4 9.hxg4 Bxg4 10.Be3 Be7 11.Kg2 f5 12.Qe1 Bxf3+ 13.Kxf3 f4 14.Bd2 g5 15.Bc3 Bf6 16.Nd2 Qe7 17.Rh1 h5 18.Ke2 g4 19.f3 g3 20.Kf1 h4 21.Rh3 a5 22.a4 b6 23.Kg2 c5 24.Qb1 Kf7 25.b3 Rad8 26.Nc4 Kg6 27.Qb2 Rh5 28.Rah1 Rdh8 29.Qa1 Kg7 30.Bb2 Kg6 31.Qb1 Rd8 32.Qe1 Kg7 33.Qa1 Rdh8 34.Na3 Kg6 35.Nb5 Bg7 36.Nc3 Qd8 37.Ne2 R8h7 38.Qe1 Qd6 39.Qc3 c6 40.Qc4 Rh8 41.Ba3 Qf6 42.Qa6 Rb8 43.Bc1 Bh6 44.Qa7 Qd8 45.Bb2 Qc8 46.Qe7 Bf8 47.Nxf4+ 1-0

Round 1, Jan. 16
Caruana, Fabiano – Van Foreest, Jorden
D32 QGD, Tarrasch Defence

1.c4 e6 2.Nc3 d5 3.d4 c5 4.e3 Nf6 5.Nf3 a6 6.cxd5 exd5 7.g3 c4 8.Bg2 Bb4 9.Bd2 O-O 10.b3 Bf5 11.O-O Bd3 12.Re1 Nc6 13.Ne5 Nxe5 14.dxe5 Bxc3 15.Bxc3 Ne4 16.Bb4 Re8 17.f3 a5 18.Ba3 Nc3 19.Qd2 Nb5 20.Bb2 a4 21.f4 a3 22.Bc3 Qb6 23.Bb4 Red8 24.Rac1 Be4 25.Be7 Re8 26.Bxe4 dxe4 27.bxc4 Rxe7 28.Qb4 Rc7 29.Qxb5 Qxb5 30.cxb5 Rac8 31.Rxc7 Rxc7 32.Rd1 g5 33.b6 Rc6 34.Rd8+ Kg7 35.Ra8 Rc1+ 36.Kg2 Rc2+ 37.Kh3 gxf4 38.gxf4 Rxa2 39.Kg4 Rxh2 40.Rxa3 Rb2 41.f5 Rg2+ 42.Kf4 h5 43.Kxe4 h4 44.Ra1 h3 45.Kf3 Rb2 46.Rh1 h2 47.Kg3 Rb5 48.Kf4 Rb2 49.Kf3 Kh6 50.Kf4 Rf2+ 51.Kg4 Re2 52.Kf3 Rb2 53.Kg3 Kg5 54.e6 fxe6 55.fxe6 Rxb6 56.Rxh2 Rxe6 1/2-1/2

- After 5.5 hours Jorden van Foreest survives against Fabiano Caruana and it's Magnus Carlsen, Anish Giri & Nils Grandelius who are the early leaders of #TataSteelChess 2021!
________

Quiz No. 1 – How many of this year’s participants have beaten Magnus Carlsen in a classical game?

Answer – Six – Caruana, MVL, Giri, Wojtaszek, Duda and Harikrishna.

________

Hari beat Magnus back in 2005!

6^th Lausanne Young Masters 2005
Lausanne, Switzerland
Round 1, Sept. 14, 2005
Harikrishna, Pentala – Carlsen, Magnus
C42 Petrov, Nimzowitsch Attack

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.Nc3 Nxc3 6.dxc3 Be7 7.Bf4 Nc6 8.Qd2 O-O 9.O-O-O Bf5 10.Rg1 Qd7 11.h3 Rae8 12.Kb1 Bf6 13.g4 Be4 14.Rg3 Bxf3 15.Rxf3 Ne5 16.Re3 Qa4 17.Qd4 Qxd4 18.cxd4 Ng6 19.Rxe8 Rxe8 20.Bc1 Bh4 21.Bc4 c6 22.Rf1 d5 23.Bd3 Nf8 24.c3 Ne6 25.f4 g5 26.fxg5 Bxg5 27.b3 Kg7 28.Kc2 Bxc1 29.Kxc1 h6 30.h4 Nf8 31.Kd2 Ng6 32.h5 Nf8 33.Bf5 Ne6 34.Kd3 Nc7 35.c4 a5 36.c5 a4 37.bxa4 Ra8 38.Rb1 Rxa4 39.Rxb7 Nb5 40.Bg6 Ra3+ 41.Kd2 Rxa2+ 42.Ke3 Ra7 43.Rxa7 Nxa7 44.Bd3 Nc8 45.Kf4 Kf6 46.Bf5 Na7 47.Bd7 Nb5 48.Bxc6 Nxd4 49.Bxd5 Nb5 50.Bc4 Nd4 51.Ke4 Nc6 52.Bb5 Ne7 53.Bd7 Ng8 54.c6 Ke7 55.Kd5 Nf6+ 56.Ke5 1-0

Final Position

**Hans Jung** · Saturday, 16th January, 2021, 05:35 PM

I enjoyed the games. Highly entertaning.
If Firouzja can learn more about defending to add to his attacking abilities he may well become unstoppable.
Exciting sacrificial finish by Magnus!

**Hans Jung** · Sunday, 17th January, 2021, 02:13 PM

Rd 2 Grandelius is super hot and that is a good thing! I really like his positional style and his pawn play, but he has just shown he can attack! Against Duda the black opening is very dangerous with the idea of f4-f3. I have won many games with it and played the same moves until move 19. Good lesson for Duda. Grandelius is now in first.
I liked the sparring in MVL - Firouzja even though there were many mistakes but I think Firouzja should have played out the endgame, every half point counts.
I learned from Caruana in the opening (never to late to learn).

**Hans Jung** · Sunday, 17th January, 2021, 03:23 PM

Great save by Anton Guijarro! You dont often shake off Magnus when he's got his claws into you.

**Wayne Komer** · Sunday, 17th January, 2021, 03:24 PM

Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2021

January 17, 2021

Round Two

Round Two Quiz Question – How many times has a future FIDE president won or tied for 1^st in) a Wijk aan Zee event? Name the player(s).

Answer – Fridrik Olafsson in 1976. Euwe is not a correct answer, because he didn’t win at Wijk but at Beverwijk.

Round 2, Jan. 17
MVL – Firouzja, Alireza
B12 Caro-Kann, Advance variation

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.Nf3 e6 5.Be2 Ne7 6.O-O c5 7.c4 Nbc6 8.dxc5 dxc4 9.Bxc4 Ng6 10.Be3 Be7 11.Bb5 O-O 12.Bxc6 bxc6 13.Na3 Qb8 14.Nc4 Be4 15.Nd6 Bd5 16.b3 f6 17.exf6 Bxf6 18.Rc1 Qb4 19.Nc4 Be7 20.Ne1 Rad8 21.Qe2 Qb8 22.Nd3 Rf5 23.f3 Nh4 24.Rf2 Kh8 25.f4 Ng6 26.Nce5 Nxe5 27.Nxe5 Qb4 28.Qc2 Kg8 29.Rd1 Bf6 30.Nc4 Bxc4 31.bxc4 Rxd1+ 32.Qxd1 Be7 33.Qb3 Qe1+ 34.Rf1 Qxe3+ 35.Qxe3 Bxc5 1/2-1/2

Position after White’s 22.Nd3

Alireza Firouzja is off the mark after escaping from a tricky position against MVL!

Round 2, Jan. 17
Donchenko, Alexander – Caruana, Fabiano
D12 QGD Slav

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 Bf5 5.Nc3 e6 6.Nh4 Be4 7.f3 Bg6 8.Bd2 Be7 9.Nxg6 hxg6 10.Qc2 Nbd7 11.O-O-O a6 12.g4 dxc4 13.Bxc4 b5 14.Be2 c5 15.d5 Nxd5 16.Nxd5 exd5 17.f4 b4 18.e4 d4 19.e5 Nb6 20.e6 Qd5 21.exf7+ Kf8 22.h4 Qxa2 23.Qxg6 b3 24.Be1 c4 25.Rxd4 Na4 26.Qb1 Ba3 27.Qxa2 bxa2 28.Kc2 Rb8 29.Rd8+ Rxd8 30.bxa3 c3 31.Bg3 Rd2+ 32.Kb3 Nc5+ 0-1

Alexander Donchenko has played bravely against Fabiano Caruana, but his position looks hopeless.

Leko: "Against these 3 pawns there is only one way to fight - with drawing some arrows!"

Round 2, Jan. 17
Duda, Jan-Krzysztof – Grandelius, Nils
A30 English, symmetrical

1.c4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.b3 e5 4.Bb2 d6 5.Nc3 g6 6.g3 Bg7 7.Bg2 Nge7 8.O-O O-O 9.d3 Rb8 10.Ne1 Be6 11.Nd5 Qd7 12.Nc2 Bh3 13.Qd2 Bxg2 14.Kxg2 f5 15.b4 f4 16.bxc5 dxc5 17.e4 f3+ 18.Kh1 Nd4 19.Nxe7+ Qxe7 20.Ne3 Qd7 21.Bxd4 exd4 22.Nd5 Rbe8 23.Rg1 Qg4 24.Qd1 Re5 25.Nf4 g5 26.h3 Qd7 27.Qxf3 Re7 28.Rg2 Qc7 29.Qh5 gxf4 30.gxf4 Qxf4 31.Qxc5 Qh4 32.Rg3 Kh8 33.Rag1 b6 34.Qd5 Qf4 35.c5 bxc5 36.Qxc5 Qe5 37.Qc6 Ref7 38.Rg5 Qf4 39.e5 Qxf2 40.Qe4 Re7 0-1

Nils Grandelius wins again to move to 2/2 - only Magnus could still catch him, but he'd need to squeeze out a win out of nowhere against David Anton!

Round 2, Jan. 17
Van Foreest, Jorden – Giri, Anish
C42 Petrov, Nimzowitsch Attack

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.Nc3 Nxc3 6.dxc3 Be7 7.Bf4 Nc6 8.Bc4 Bf5 9.Qd2 Qd7 10.O-O-O Be6 11.Bxe6 Qxe6 12.Kb1 O-O-O 13.Nd4 Qd7 14.Nxc6 Qxc6 15.Qe3 Bf6 16.Qxa7 Qxg2 17.Qa8+ Kd7 18.Qa4+ Kc8 19.Qa8+ Kd7 20.Qa4+ Kc8 21.Rhe1 Qc6 22.Qxc6 bxc6 23.c4 Kb7 24.c3 c5 25.Kc2 Ra8 26.Ra1 g5 27.Bd2 Rhg8 28.Re3 g4 29.h3 h5 30.hxg4 hxg4 31.Rg3 Be5 32.f4 gxf3 33.Rxf3 f6 34.a3 Rg4 35.Kd3 c6 36.Raf1 d5 37.Bf4 dxc4+ 38.Kc2 Rd8 39.Bxe5 fxe5 40.Rf7+ Kb6 41.Re7 Rf4 42.Rxf4 exf4 43.Rf7 Rh8 1/2-1/2

Round 2, Jan. 17
Harikrishna, Pentala – Esipenko, Andrey
B12 Caro-Kann Defence

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.Nf3 cxd4 5.Nxd4 Nc6 6.c4 e6 7.Nc3 Bb4 8.Be2 Nge7 9.O-O dxc4 10.Nxc6 Qxd1 11.Rxd1 Nxc6 12.Nb5 O-O 13.Bf4 a6 14.Nc3 Bc5 15.Bf3 Rb8 16.Bxc6 bxc6 17.Rd2 Be7 18.Rad1 a5 19.Be3 f6 20.exf6 gxf6 21.Rd4 Rxb2 22.Rxc4 Rd8 23.Rxd8+ Bxd8 24.Rxc6 Bd7 25.Rd6 Rb7 26.h3 f5 27.Rd1 Be7 28.Bd4 Kf7 29.Be5 Bc6 30.Ne2 Bd5 31.Nc3 Bc6 32.Ne2 a4 33.Rc1 Bd5 34.Nc3 Ba3 35.Rd1 Bc6 36.Rd8 Bf8 37.Rc8 Bd7 38.Ra8 a3 39.Ra6 Bb5 40.Nxb5 Rxb5 41.f4 h5 42.Ra7+ Kg6 43.Kh2 Rd5 44.Ra6 Kf7 45.Ra7+ Kg6 46.Ra6 Kf7 47.Ra7+ Kg6 1/2-1/2

Round 2, Jan. 17
Tari, Aryan – Wojtaszek, Radoslaw
B51 Sicilian, Canal-Sokolsky Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bb5+ Nd7 4.a4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be2 b6 7.d4 cxd4 8.Qxd4 e5 9.Qe3 Bb7 10.O-O Be7 11.Nd2 O-O 12.Rd1 Qc7 13.b3 Nc5 14.Bb2 h6 15.b4 Ne6 16.Nc4 Nd7 17.a5 b5 18.Nb6 Nxb6 19.axb6 Qb8 20.Qg3 Kh8 21.Bc1 Bc6 22.Be3 Nf4 23.Bxf4 exf4 24.Qxf4 Qxb6 25.Nd5 Bxd5 26.Rxd5 Qc6 27.Bd3 Qc3 28.Rb1 a5 29.bxa5 Rxa5 30.g3 Kg8 31.Rdxb5 Rxb5 32.Rxb5 Qc7 33.h4 Bf6 34.Qf5 Be5 35.h5 Rb8 36.Rxb8+ Qxb8 37.Bc4 Qc7 38.Bd5 Bf6 39.c4 Bd4 40.Kg2 Bc3 41.f4 Bd4 42.Kh3 Kf8 43.g4 Qa7 44.g5 hxg5 45.fxg5 Be5 46.Kh4 Ke8 47.c5 Qxc5 48.Qxf7+ Kd8 49.Be6 Qc6 50.Bf5 Qb5 51.h6 gxh6 52.gxh6 Qe8 53.Qc4 Ke7 54.h7 Qf7 55.Qc1 Qf6+ 56.Kh3 Qg7 57.Qc7+ Ke8 58.Qc8+ Ke7 59.Qd7+ Kf8 60.Qd8+ Kf7 61.Qg8+ Ke7 62.Qe6+ Kf8 63.Qc8+ Ke7 64.Qc7+ Ke8 65.Qb8+ Ke7 66.Qa7+ Kf8 67.Qf2 Qh6+ 68.Kg4 Kg7 1/2-1/2

Round 2, Jan. 17
Anton Guijarro, David – Carlsen, Magnus
B30 Sicilian Defence

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 g6 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nxd4 Bg7 6.Be3 Nf6 7.Nb3 d6 8.f3 Be6 9.Qd2 d5 10.Bb5 dxe4 11.Qxd8+ Rxd8 12.fxe4 Bd7 13.O-O-O Ng4 14.Bc5 Bxc3 15.bxc3 b6 16.Bg1 Nce5 17.Bd3 Ba4 18.Bd4 Nxd3+ 19.cxd3 Rxd4 20.cxd4 Nf2 21.Kd2 Nxh1 22.Rxh1 e6 23.Nc1 Ke7 24.Ne2 Bd7 25.a4 Rc8 26.Nc3 f5 27.Rb1 fxe4 28.dxe4 e5 29.Kd3 exd4 30.Kxd4 Rc5 31.Nd5+ Kf7 32.Rf1+ Kg7 33.Nc3 Be6 34.Nb5 Rc2 35.Ke5 Bg8 36.Rg1 a5 37.Nd6 Bb3 38.Rb1 Bxa4 39.Rxb6 Rxg2 40.h4 Rh2 41.Ra6 Rxh4 42.Rxa5 Bd1 43.Ra1 Rh1 44.Ne8+ Kh6 45.Nf6 Kg5 46.Ra7 h5 47.Nh7+ Kh6 48.Nf8 Rf1 49.Rh7+ Kg5 50.Ne6+ Kh4 51.Rg7 Rg1 52.Nd4 g5 53.Nf5+ Kh3 54.Ne3 Bf3 55.Kf5 Kh4 56.Ke5 Bg4 57.Kd4 Bh3 58.e5 Ra1 59.Rg6 Ra4+ 60.Kd5 Ra5+ 61.Kd4 Ra8 62.e6 Re8 63.Ke5 Bg4 64.Kd6 Rxe6+ 65.Rxe6 Bxe6 66.Kxe6 Kg3 67.Kf5 Kf3 68.Kxg5 Kxe3 69.Kxh5 1/2-1/2

David Anton survives his 6-hour first classical game against Magnus Carlsen, so Nils Grandelius will end the day as the sole leader of the #TataSteelChess Masters!

Jan, Peter and Tania talk about Lawrence Trent – as to whether he will become a grandmaster in the next few years. Tania says that Lawrence has made millions in bitcoins.

Chat comments on this:

- what is standing in Lawrence's way to GM title? Ability?

- if he has the money, he can bribe everybody

- Trent is under 2400, right?

- Think Tania has been higher rated than Trent

- I think he would have been a GM if he spent less time squeezing his teabags

Standings after Round Two

1 Grandelius 2
2-4 Carlsen, Giri, Caruana 1.5
5-10 Harikrishna, Anton, MVL, Wojtaszek, Esipenko, Van Foreest 1
11-13 Firouzja, Duda, Tari 0.5
14 Donchenko 0

**Hans Jung** · Sunday, 17th January, 2021, 08:50 PM

Grandelius has had a great start to the tournament. However there are three parts to a tournament, the beginning rounds, the middle, and the finish. Will he continue the course and be there at the finish? I hope he finishes well.

-	-		-		-
Participant		Country		Rating		Ranking
-
Magnus Carlsen		Norway		2862		1
Fabiano Caruana		U.S.A.		2823		2
Ian Nepomniachtchi		Russia		2784		4
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave		France		2784		5
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov		Azerbaijan		2770		8
Anish Giri		The Netherlands		2764		11
Alireza Firouzja		FIDE		2749		18
Jan-Krzysztof Duda		Poland		2743		19
Daniil Dubov		Russia		2702		37
Andrey Esipenko		Russia		2686		49
David Anton Guijarro		Spain		2675		60
Jorden van Foreest		The Netherlands		2671		66
Nodirbek Abdusattorov		Uzbekistan		2627		152
Aryan Tari		Norway		2618		184
-		-				-
	-			-