The still life on the chessboard between two empty chairs in sports hall De Moriaan tells the full story of the 84th edition of the Tata Steel Chess Tournament in Wijk aan Zee. On Sunday at 12 noon, the start of the last round, all pieces are in their usual starting position, except for the white king. He stands alone in midfield. He oversees the men untouchable. Even before one move has been made, this is the position that declares white the winner.
Where there are still twelve grandmasters, five-time world champion Magnus Carlsen (31) no longer has to play to settle the matter. On Saturday evening he defeated American Fabiano Caruana, the full point was enough to stay out of reach of his pursuers. His intended opponent on Sunday, the Russian Daniil Doebov, disappeared from the scene last week after a positive test for corona. Who knows, the organizers say, Carlsen may now be taking a dip in the North Sea. He does that often. At the end of the day he would come by to receive the prize.
The Norwegian feels at home in the Wimbledon of chess, where he has played eighteen times in the past nineteen years. The win signifies his eighth win; he was already unthreatened record holder. In 2008 he triumphed with Levon Aronian for the first time, aged only 17. The only time he failed, in 2014, Aronian won.
Winning in Wijk aan Zee is not easy, as it turns out on Saturday evening when Carlson appears on Skype on Skype half an hour after his victory with black on Caruana. He is utterly delighted; 9.5 points, unbeaten. He was not exactly satisfied with his last performances here, but that he could now make a difference thanks to strong matches against Anish Giri, Sjakhriar Mamedjarov, Richard Rapport and Caruana, number four in the world ranking, dispels the unease. “This feels really good and it’s well deserved.” He attributes it to ‘focus’ and ‘discipline’. The fact that the end result is already certain before he gets the last point on Sunday due to the absence of Doebov, only makes the satisfied feeling even greater. “Nobody would want to win like that.”
World Cup match in Dubai
After becoming world champion for the fifth time in Dubai last month at the expense of Russian Ian Nepomniachtsji, Carlsen confessed that he had struggled to charge for the title fight. He could have enjoyed the preparation, but he didn’t like the playing itself. Whether he will once again be tempted to a World Cup, seemed ‘unlikely’ to him. There is no need to doubt the motivation for Tata Steel Chess, he makes clear on Saturday evening. ‘The field of participants here is strong and varied. This is not just any tournament. This is a chess festival. I love playing here. I don’t like the world championship.’
The lack of the festival atmosphere – no spectators, no amateurs, the catering industry in the village closed except for the last half week – led to some grumbling among some participants. It had been boring, it took effort to stay inspired. It hasn’t bothered Carlsen. ‘Of course I would have preferred an audience. But for me as a player it doesn’t make much difference. My routine looks pretty much the same without any restrictions. I’m already in my own bubble anyway.’
Tournament director Jeroen van den Berg breathes a sigh of relief the next day. With omikron lurking, completion of the rounds was not obvious. In the end it remained with contamination of three seconds and one player. ‘I was quite nervous’, admits Van den Berg. “I found it difficult to tell Dubov that he had tested positive. Fortunately he took it laconic.’
He understands grandmasters who complained about the monotony. ‘I would like to see it differently myself. Chess players are known for being introverted, but they also like to catch up in a restaurant once in a while.’ In view of the extreme risk of contamination, he did not consider allowing spectators for a moment after relaxations came into effect last Wednesday. ‘Chess players are also creatures of habit. You shouldn’t suddenly change the ambiance.’ Would he also allow the 85th edition to take place under the same circumstances? ‘Will I like it? New. But will he get there? Yes. Anyway. But of course we fervently hope that it will be as usual again.’
An advance is already being taken in Wijk aan Zee on Sunday afternoon. In chess café De Zon, Hans Böhm analyzes the games further on as usual and after the tournament De Moriaan fills himself with a familiar scent: the participants and their entourage are served pea soup.
Supporting role for Giri and Van Foreest
Last year’s Dutch protagonists, Anish Giri and Jorden van Foreest, had a supporting role this edition. Giri finished 4th, Van Foreest shared fifth with a score of 7 out of 13, together with Karjakin. On the final day in 2021, both fought a breathtaking duel for the overall victory. After two draws in the tiebreak, Van Foreest took the win in the final seconds in a so-called armageddon.
Giri calls his performance mixed this year. After a bad start, the tide seemed to turn after a win against Fabiano Caruana (‘little luck’), Andrey Esipenko and Sam Shankland (‘two very good matches’). But in the final phase he lost points again, by losing to Van Foreest in the eleventh round, among other things. ‘At the tough start I was left with an unpleasant feeling throughout the tournament.’ On Sunday he already played a draw against Richard Rapport with black after 14 moves. “It wasn’t worth it to me to take any more risks.”