In an unprecedented incident in the world of chess, the opening round of the Tata Steel Masters tournament was delayed for a few hours due to environmental activists blocking the venue’s entrance with
large chunks of coal. The organising committee promptly addressed the situation, deciding to postpone the first round until the safety of the numerous participants could be ensured.
The Tata Steel Masters, previously known as the Corus tournament, was renamed in 2011 after the steel company based near Amsterdam. The unexpected disruption surprised many of the registered players. The tournament features not only two elite events but also numerous side events, attracting hundreds of players from around the globe to this renowned chess festival, celebrated 88 times since its inception in 1938.
Organisers reassured that the day’s schedule would not be lost and swiftly cleared the coal debris.
What Are The Matches?
World champion D Gukesh faces a challenging start with the black pieces against recently crowned world cup winner Javokhir Sindarov of Uzbekistan.
This year’s Tata Steel Masters will see 14 players competing to make their mark in chess history. Arjun Erigaisi is the top seed, as the top three ranked players in the world—Magnus Carlsen, Hikaru Nakamura, and Fabiano Caruana—are not participating this year. While Carlsen’s absence was anticipated, Caruana and Nakamura possibly declined due to the upcoming Candidates’ tournament in March.
With a packed schedule throughout 2025, the world’s top players are heavily committed, making their absence from this event expected.
Pairings Round 1:
Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus(Tur) vs Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzb); Aravindh Chithambaram (Ind) vs Matthias Bluebaum (Ger); Hans Moke Niemann (Usa) vs Vladimir Fedoseev (Slo); Vincent Keymer (Ger) vs Anish Giri (Ned); Javokhir Sindarov (Uzb) vs D Gukesh (Ind); Jorden van Foreest (Ned) vs Thai Dai Van Nguyen (Cze); Arjun Erigaisi (Ind) vs R Praggnanandhaa (Ind).
(With inputs from Agencies)
