13 January 2022

Tata Steel Chess Tournament Starts in Wijk aan Zee

Three Russians will take part in the Masters event.

Photo: Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2021
Photo: Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2021


A legendary Tata Steel Chess tournament was officially opened on the 14 of January in Wijk aan Zee. This year, there will be two events: Masters (an average rating is 2737) and Challengers (2561).

The main event features Magnus Carlsen (2865, Norway), Fabiano Caruana (2792, the USA), Anish Giri (2772, the Netherlands), Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (2767, Azerbaijan), Richard Rapport (2763, Hungary), Jan-Krzysztof Duda (2760, Poland), Sergey Karjakin (2743, Russia), Vidit Santosh Gujrathi (2727, India), Daniil Dubov (2720, Russia), Andrey Esipenko (2714, Russia), Sam Shankland (2708, the USA), Jorden Van Foreest (2702, the Netherlands), Nils Grandelius (2672, Sweden), and Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa (2612, India). 

The drawing of lots was held on the opening day. The first round will see the following games: 

Vidit - Shankland, Caruana - Karjakin, Dubov - Mamedyarov, Esipenko - Carlsen, Giri - Praggnanandhaa, Duda - Rapport, and Van Foreest - Grandelius.

Two Russian players, Volodar Murzin (2519) and Polina Shuvalova (2516), will take part in the Challengers tournament.

Both events are 13-round all-play-all tournaments. 

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 match days: 15-18, 20-23, 25-26, and 28-30 January. Rest days: 19, 24, and 27 January. The rounds begin at 4 PM Moscow time.


In case of a tie for the first place by two or more players, a new tiebreak formula will be implemented.

Official website