Wijk aan Zee 16th Jan - 1st Feb 2026

[Mick Norris]

TWIC

The Tata Steel Chess tournament takes place in Wijk aan Zee 16th Jan - 1st Feb 2026. The fields for both the Masters and Challengers have been set and they reflect the state of professional chess today.

The Masters group has an average age of just 23. Exciting players like Vincent Keymer, Arjun Erigaisi, Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Hans Niemann should light up the competition. World Champion Gukesh might be struggling at the moment but you'd want him in your tournament, especially as he only just missed out last year following a tie-break match with the eventual winner Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa. Dutch number one Anish Giri is the oldest player in the field at 32, he has enjoyed one of his best years, the highlight of which was his qualification for the Candidates by taking clear first place in the Grand Swiss Tournament in Samarkand.

Juniors do grab the headlines with 14 year old Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus playing in the Masters and Faustino Oro in the Challengers. Vasyl Ivanchuk returns to Wijk aan Zee after a break of 10 years and is to play the Challengers. He is by far the oldest player in the field at 56.

website

[Graham Borrowdale]

Are the organisers of these tournaments deliberately writing off players above the age of 30?

[LawrenceCooper]

Are the organisers of these tournaments deliberately writing off players above the age of 30?

Not totally, there's Giri & Fedoseev in the Masters as well as Ivanchuk & l'Ami in the Challengers. The line up does seem a reasonably fair reflection of the current elite chess scene where the younger players are very active and the older players at the top of the rankings are less so.

[Nigel White]

Looking at the Tournament Rules for the Amateur sections, they contain the following paragraph:

"During a game, it is forbidden for a player to carry any electronic device. Such devices must be stored in a player’s bag or coat and must be completely switched off. If it is evident that a player has such a device on their person in the playing venue, the player shall lose the game. The opponent shall win. If it is noticed that such a device is not completely switched off, the remaining time of the player will be reduced to half with a maximum deduction of 10 minutes."

If I'm interpreting this correctly: if you have an electronic device on your person, you lose, whether it is on or off - as is the case for most tournaments. However, if the device is on, but not on your person (i.e. a phone rings when in a bag) you just incur a time penalty (of a maximum of 10 minutes). I've never seen such a rule before. Is it any better than the usual loss of the game and is it compatible with FIDE rules (which presumably it should be if the tournament is FIDE rated)?

[Ian Thompson]

Is it any better than the usual loss of the game and is it compatible with FIDE rules (which presumably it should be if the tournament is FIDE rated)?

Yes, in my opinion, and yes.

Losing the game for causing a disturbance with a mobile phone is excessive when compared to the penalty likely to be applied for causing a disturbance in some other way.

The FIDE rules say a device stored in a player's bag must be switched off but they do not specify a penalty if it's not switched off. That's at the arbiter's discretion.

[Alex McFarlane]

The FIDE rules say a device stored in a player's bag must be switched off but they do not specify a penalty if it's not switched off. That's at the arbiter's discretion.
[/quo11.3.2.1
11.3.2.2 During a game, a player is forbidden to have any electronic device
not specifically approved by the arbiter in the playing venue.
...
11.3.2.3 If it is evident that a player has such a device on their person in
the playing venue, the player shall lose the game. The opponent
shall win. The regulations of an event may specify a different, less
severe, penalty.

Unless the regulations (not the arbiter!) decides otherwise then the player loses. If it is not switched off then it is not an approved device, even if in a bag. It therefore loses. I think the Laws are clear on that.

[Ian Thompson]

The FIDE rules say a device stored in a player's bag must be switched off but they do not specify a penalty if it's not switched off. That's at the arbiter's discretion.

11.3.2.1
11.3.2.2 During a game, a player is forbidden to have any electronic device
not specifically approved by the arbiter in the playing venue.
...
11.3.2.3 If it is evident that a player has such a device on their person in
the playing venue, the player shall lose the game. The opponent
shall win. The regulations of an event may specify a different, less
severe, penalty.

Unless the regulations (not the arbiter!) decides otherwise then the player loses. If it is not switched off then it is not an approved device, even if in a bag. It therefore loses. I think the Laws are clear on that.

I don't.

11.3.2.2 (not 11.3.2.3) that you've quoted refers specifically to what happens when a player has a device on their person, so is of no relevance for a device stored in a bag.

11.3.2 (not 11.3.2.2) that you've quoted makes no mention of the state of a device affecting it being an approved device or not. Nor does it specify any mandatory penalty for having an unapproved device in the playing area. So, even if you accept the dubious view that a switched off mobile phone could be an approved device and the same phone switched on an unapproved device there is nothing in the Laws saying that is an automatic loss for the player.

The rules say:

1. The penalty for a player having a device on their person, regardless of whether it's an approved device, an unapproved device, switched on, or switched off, is a mandatory loss.

2. The penalty for a player having an unapproved device in the playing area, but not on their person, regardless of whether it's switched on or switched off, is at the arbiter's discretion.

3. The penalty for a player having an approved device in the playing area, not in a bag and not on their person, regardless of whether it's switched on or switched off, is at the arbiter's discretion.

4. The penalty for a player having an approved device in the playing area in a bag, but not switched off, is at the arbiter's discretion.

[Mick Norris]

Chess Mind preview

I assume the pairings will be released tomorrow; starts Saturday, rest days Thursday 22nd, Monday 26th, Thursday 29th

[LawrenceCooper]

Chess Mind preview

I assume the pairings will be released tomorrow; starts Saturday, rest days Thursday 22nd, Monday 26th, Thursday 29th

Commentary by Jovanka Houska & Simon Williams

[Paul Cooksey]

Play now underway after a substantial delay. Extinction Rebellion unsurprisingly not fans of Tata Steel, "No Chess on a Dead Planet"

Some cautious white openings in the first round but also some interesting boards

[LawrenceCooper]

Play now underway after a substantial delay. Extinction Rebellion unsurprisingly not fans of Tata Steel, "No Chess on a Dead Planet"

Some cautious white openings in the first round but also some interesting boards

Fedoseev blunders/mixes up his prep and resigns after 16 moves!

[Matt Mackenzie]

Surely mixing up your prep counts as a blunder?

[LawrenceCooper]

Surely mixing up your prep counts as a blunder?

I suppose I could have said "He either mixed up his prep or was out of prep and blundered"

[Jon D'Souza-Eva]

Giri's blunder was astonishing:
[Event "Tata Steel Chess Masters"] [Date "2026.01.17"] [Round "1.4"] [White "Keymer, Vincent"] [Black "Giri, Anish"] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteTitle "GM"] [BlackTitle "GM"] [WhiteElo "2776"] [BlackElo "2760"] [ECO "D27"] [Opening "Queen's Gambit Accepted: Classical Defense, Main Line"] [UTCDate "2026.01.17"] [UTCTime "10:42:43"] [Variant "Standard"] [WhiteFideId "12940690"] [BlackFideId "24116068"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 e6 5. Bxc4 c5 6. O-O a6 7. Re1 Nc6 8. Nc3 Be7 9. dxc5 Qxd1 10. Rxd1 Bxc5 11. Nd2 O-O 12. Nb3 Ba7 13. Be2 Rd8 14. Bd2 Bd7 15. Be1 Be8 16. Kf1 Rac8 17. Rxd8 Rxd8 18. Rc1 h6 19. Na4 Nd4 20. exd4 Bxa4 21. Rc7 Rb8 $2 22. Na5 Bxd4 $4 23. Rc4 1-0
https://lichess.org/broadcast/tata-stee ... Z/eTsnuMIW

[Jon D'Souza-Eva]

Gukesh's game is worthy of a World Champion:
https://lichess.org/broadcast/tata-stee ... Z/RHEJKqwL