Tata Steel Chess Tournament Kicks Off in Wijk aan Zee

Four games ended decisively.

The first round of the Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2024 was played in Wijk aan Zee on 13 January. In the Masters event, Ian Nepomniachtchi celebrated a bright victory as Black: the Russian convincingly outplayed Max Warmerdam in the Vienna Variation of the Queen's Gambit and compelled his opponent to resign on the 29th move in an utterly hopeless position.  

Alireza Firouzja outmanoeuvred Jorden Van Foreest in an endgame with rooks and minor pieces. Wei Yi converted an extra exchange in his encounter with Alexander Donchenko. In the longest game of the round which happened to be quite eventful, Anish Giri outtricked Ju Wenjun in a rook endgame with an extra pawn and managed to win.

The games Vidit - Ding Liren, Gukesh - Abdusattorov, and Praggnanandhaa - Maghsoodloo were drawn.

 
Standings after Round 1:

1-4. Alireza Firouzja, Ian Nepomniachtchi, Anish Giri, Wei Yi - 1
5-10. Ding Liren, Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Parham Maghsoodloo, Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, Dommaraju Gukesh, Vidit Santosh Gujrathi - 0.5
11-14. Alexander Donchenko, Ju Wenjun, Max Warmerdam, Jorden Van Foreest - 0.

Round 2 pairings:

Firouzja - Maghsoodloo, Abdusattorov - Praggnanandhaa, Wei Yi - Gukesh, Ding Liren - Donchenko, Giri - Vidit, Nepomniachtchi - Ju Wenjun, Van Foreest - Warmerdam

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