Hello everyone.
Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2026 in Wijk aan Zee continues as today was played 8th round and tomorrow there is a second and last rest day of the tournament.
With more 5 rounds to go there is a lot of chess to be played and standings can change especially after some players up their performance.
Standings in Masters and Challengers groups.
Nodirbek Abdusattorov was able to hold first place even though he lost todays game of round 8 against Anish Giri. Two wins, draw and one loss was enough to stay on the top and have half point lead.
Javokhir Sindarov good performance got him second place behind his country man. Uzbekistan have two players in top two after 8 rounds.
He 5 points also has half point lead on next closest player. Only player without loss.
6 draws and 2 wins.
Next we have group of 3 players with 4.5 points.
Hans Nieman, Jorden Van Foreest and Yağız Kaan Erdoğmuş are tied together for 3rd place. It is worth mentioning that Yağız Kaan Erdoğmuş is 14 years old. What a tournament for him.
Gap is not that much to cover with 5 rounds to go.
Rest of the players are close by as well. One or two games and you can improve your standings.
After last 4 round Anish Giri with 2 draws and 2 wins sends message to the rest of the group that he is still there. 2 wins in row for him to close 8th round.
Marc'Andria Maurizzi is in shared first place in Challengers group after 8 rounds with 6.5 points. He manage to move from the second place after 4 rounds to leader with 3 wins and one draw. No loss for him in this tournament. 4 wins and 3 draws so far.
Andy Woodward with 6.5 points leads Challengers group with Marc'Andria Maurizzi. Only player that have 6 wins from 8 rounds in the tournament.
Started tournament with a loss and then had 5 wins in a row. What a comeback after a loss. Important message for all chess players - one bad game should not affect your performance in the tournament.
Aydin Suleymanli, leader after 4 rounds, is now in the third place with only half point behind leaders. Still no loss in the tournament for him as well.
Vasyl Ivanchuk managed to climb to 4th place. Chess legend bounced back strong after loss in fourth round with 3 wins and one draw. Currently on 3 wins in row. Oldest player in the both Masters and Challengers groups is only 1 point behind the first place in Challengers groups.
GM Bibisara Assaubayeva,Daniil Yuffa and Faustino Oro are in shared fifth place with 4.5 points.
We have IM Carrisa Yip on 8th place and interesting detail. She can reach her GM norm in this tournament as she already has 2 Gm norms. If she managed to get her third GM norm on this tournament she will get 100 000 dollars. Jeanne Cairns Sinquefield and Saint Louis Chess Club announced in 2024 that who ever gets GM norm from female players in the next five years will get 100 000 dollars reward. Up to 5 players can get Cairns Chess Queens Award. Jeanne Cairns Sinquefield is co-founder of Saint Louis Chess Club. As I understood she needs 5 points to do so but I am not sure. Lets see if she can get GM norm.
Masters group
Today game between Anish Giri and Nodirbek Abdusattorov was exciting to watch. Anish Giri was winning but one move could change the game so it was nail biter until the end.
At one point it was like this. More pawns for the Anish Giri but it was not easy.
And now it is almost equal on the evaluation bar. Yet Nodirbek Abdusattorov needed best moves and King to c3 was not good move.
Nodirbek Abdusattorov tried some tricks in the end but Anish Giri managed to play correctly and get win against Masters group leader.
What a comeback for Anish Giri.
Game link
https://lichess.org/broadcast/tata-steel-chess-2026--masters/round-8/W4XtM3HF/OyWQr9qj
Yağız Kaan Erdoğmuş win against Arjun Erigaisi in round 7 was huge. Win against world no 5 at the moment for new chess superstar.
Game was equal until this point. Rook to e1 was a blunder and Yağız Kaan Erdoğmuş did not miss his opportunity.
With two pawns up he manage to get huge win. Super win for young chess prodigy.
Game link
https://lichess.org/broadcast/tata-steel-chess-2026--masters/round-7/vhLqH6fn/vXYPySHk
Rest day tomorrow and last 5 round to go.
All info and photo from lichess page.
