Up-and-coming talents compete with established world class players
Wijk aan Zee, 22 November 2022 – With both the number one and number two in the world (Magnus Carlsen and Ding Liren), five top 10 players and a total of eight top 20 players, the Masters of the jubilee edition of the Tata Steel Chess Tournament has a very strong field of participants. The 85th edition promises to be a wonderful battleground, because a number of great talents are also present to compete with these world class players. The tournament will take place from 13 to 29 January 2023 in Wijk aan Zee in the Netherlands.
Title holder Magnus Carlsen makes his nineteenth appearance. The Dutch top players Anish Giri and Jorden van Foreest are also present. No fewer than five of the fourteen participants have won the Tata Steel Chess Tournament before. Carlsen even eight times and is therefore the record holder (2008, 2010, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019 and 2022). Aronian won the tournament four times (2007, 2008, 2012 and 2014). Caruana (2020), So (2017) and Van Foreest (2021) all won the tournament once.
The following grandmasters will compete for the title:
| Name | Country | Birthyear | Rating | World ranking |
| Magnus Carlsen | Norway | 1990 | 2859 | 1 |
| Ding Liren | China | 1992 | 2811 | 2 |
| Fabiano Caruana | United States | 1992 | 2766 | 6 |
| Anish Giri | Netherlands | 1994 | 2764 | 7 |
| Wesley So | United States | 1993 | 2760 | 8 |
| Richard Rapport | Romania | 1996 | 2740 | 15 |
| Levon Aronian | United States | 1982 | 2735 | 17 |
| Jan-Krzysztof Duda | Poland | 1998 | 2731 | 18 |
| Dommaraju Gukesh | India | 2006 | 2725 | 23 |
| Arjun Erigaisi | India | 2003 | 2718 | 28 |
| Nodirbek Abdusattorov | Uzbekistan | 2004 | 2713 | 32 |
| Vincent Keymer | Germany | 2004 | 2698 | 42 |
| Jorden van Foreest | Netherlands | 1999 | 2690 | 47 |
| R Praggnanandhaa | India | 2005 | 2678 | 62 |
(FIDE ratings 1-11-2022)
Top talents vs. world top
Tournament director Jeroen van den Berg is extremely satisfied with the strong field of participants. “Almost all the top chess players in the world want to participate here in January. We are always looking for a perfect mix between the world’s best players and up-and-coming talent. In my opinion, we have succeeded in that. Great matches are coming! And I’m not just talking about the matches between the world’s best players. I am really looking forward to how the young top talents, such as sixteen-year-old Gukesh or eighteen-year-old Abdusattorov, will compete with the established order.”
Compete for the coveted title
“This is the strongest field I have ever seen in Wijk aan Zee. An extremely impressive line-up,” said Anish Giri, the current world number 7 and ambassador of the tournament. “I hear the same enthusiasm from other participants. Great to compete together for the coveted title in January. Everyone wants to win this tournament at least once and I think that all participants will be able to do that in the upcoming edition.”
Amateur chess players and spectators are welcome again
Hans van den Berg, CEO of Tata Steel Netherlands: “It’s great that we can once again organise a full tournament for this jubilee edition. That means including the popular amateur tournaments and with all associated events and meetings. Fortunately, spectators are also welcome again. That completes the tournament. We are proud to welcome all chess fans again in Wijk aan Zee in January.”
With both the number one and number two in the world (Magnus Carlsen and Ding Liren), five top 10 players and a total of eight top 20 players, the Masters of the jubilee edition of the Tata Steel Chess Tournament has a very strong field of participants. The 85th edition promises to be a wonderful battleground, because a number of great talents are also present to compete with these world class players. The tournament will take place from 13 to 29 January 2023 in Wijk aan Zee in the Netherlands.
