Wijk aan Zee 84th Tata Steel 2022 14 to 30 Jan

[IM Jack Rudd]

It seems Carlsen gained 3 rating points. Not helped by the win by default over Duda in the final round. So he really got 9.5/12 for rating purposes, is that right?

It is, yes. For a game to be rated, both players must play at least one move.

[Christopher Kreuzer]

Thanks, Jack. I meant Dubov, not Duda, of course!

The exchange sacrifice win by Carlsen over Caruana looks impressive. Is that a pretty standard exchange sacrifice combination (getting at least two pawns for the exchange), or is it a 'hard' one to judge at the point it was made? It did seem obvious within a few moves that Caruana would struggle to hold that position.

[LawrenceCooper]

It seems Carlsen gained 3 rating points. Not helped by the win by default over Duda in the final round. So he really got 9.5/12 for rating purposes, is that right?

It is, yes. For a game to be rated, both players must play at least one move.

His overall score (including the Dubov default) was 9.5/13. Without the default it's 8.5/12.

[Mick Norris]

Thanks, Jack. I meant Dubov, not Duda, of course!

The exchange sacrifice win by Carlsen over Caruana looks impressive. Is that a pretty standard exchange sacrifice combination (getting at least two pawns for the exchange), or is it a 'hard' one to judge at the point it was made? It did seem obvious within a few moves that Caruana would struggle to hold that position.

There's some analysis on Chess Mind if you scroll down to game 12.1