Alireza Firouzja is the only player to score perfect 2/2 points at the 86th edition of the Tata Steel Chess in Wijk aan Zee. As a last-minute qualifier for the Candidates Tournament 2024, Firouzja came into the limelight as one of the favorites to win the event now.
After defeating Jorden Van Foreest in the first round, the French No 1 scored a victory against Parham Maghsoodloo in the second round of the Tata Steel Masters. A total of three games finished in a decisive result yesterday, but only Alireza managed to score two consecutive wins in the tournament.
Alireza Firouzja vs Parham Maghsoodloo | 1-0
Firouzja sacrificed two pawns in the early part of the game showing his will for an open sharp fight. Delivering a tremendous mating attack, Firouzja earned a decisive material advantage and won the game after 43 moves.
Wei Yi vs Gukesh D | 0-1
Dommaraju Gukesh delivered a miniature against the Chinese grandmaster Wei Yi. The Indian prodigy chose Italian as black and managed to create an extremely sharp environment. After all trades and sacrifices when the dust settled, Gukesh went out with an exchange up and Wei Yi resigned.
Jorden Van Foreest vs Max Warmedam | 0-1
The tournament didn’t start well for Jorden Van Foreest who lost both games. After shocking blunder against Firouzja in the first round, Van Foreest made a terrible positional mistake with 22.Bh6. His teammate, Max Warmerdam, didn’t miss a chance and showed nice technique to score a victory with black.
Rankings after two played rounds:
| 1 | Firouzja, Alireza | 2/2 | 2759 |
| 2 | Gukesh | 1½/2 | 2725 |
| 3 | Nepomniachtchi, Ian | 1½/2 | 2769 |
| 4 | Giri, Anish | 1½/2 | 2749 |
| 5 | Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi | 1/2 | 2742 |
| 6 | Abdusattorov, Nodirbek | 1/2 | 2727 |
| 7 | Ding Liren | 1/2 | 2780 |
| 8 | Praggnanandhaa | 1/2 | 2743 |
| 9 | Wei Yi | 1/2 | 2740 |
| 10 | Warmerdam, Max | 1/2 | 2625 |
| 11 | Ju Wenjun | ½/2 | 2549 |
| 12 | Maghsoodloo, Parham | ½/2 | 2740 |
| 13 | Donchenko, Alexander | ½/2 | 2643 |
| 14 | Van Foreest, Jorden | 0/2 | 2682 |
The third round starts today (Monday, 15 January 2024) at 14:00 CET. Live games can be followed here and live video broadcast is available here. Round 3 pairings:
- Max Warmerdam vs Alireza Firouzja
- Ju Wenjun vs Jorden Van Foreest
- Vidit Santosh Gujrathi vs Ian Nepomniachtchi
- Alexander Donchenko vs Anish Giri
- Gukesh D vs Ding Liren
- Praggnanandhaa vs Wei Yi
- Parham Maghsoodloo vs Nodirbek Abdusattorov
Pairings and schedule of all rounds can be found on the following link.
Photos by Jurriaan Hoefsmit and Lennart Ootes
