New Year’s cheer comes in many forms, but one I noticed in the newly revamped London Standard in its The List column, ‘The Very Best of What to Do in London This Week’ (30th Jan), described by them as ‘delectable’, contains an announcement under ‘Luxe Chess’ that reads: ‘Not since The Queen’s Gambit (film) has chess had such a moment.’ Having had any number of ‘moments’ myself since that film, I wondered what on earth they were proposing. Perhaps they were hinting at the buzz around the Tata Steel Chess Tournament, a major event in the chess calendar. The write-up continued: ‘Raffles has just launched a collectable set (chess) by jewellery designer Ellie Mercer and whisky label The Balvenie.’ No further info is offered or pictured to help us ‘salivate’ over the announcement, unfortunately. The next listing below, titled ‘Barometer’, pictures a chess knight disconcertingly placed alongside its title, as the reader might have expected to experience ‘the moment’ in sighting the Raffles set.
The presentation box comes with the board, pieces, and a bottle of The Balvenie Twenty-Five whisky, available exclusively at Fortnum & Mason. Not for the aspiring under-ten chess genius children we see in abundance these days across the globe. Its price, as mentioned, puts it out of range for most, but for those who can afford it, they can always blame drinking too much whisky when they lose.
While the luxury and leisurely end of cultural interfacing forever reinvents itself, those at the coalface chip and bang away, knowing that any lapse in attention, memory, or creative drive allows their opponent to find that chink in their defences that will ultimately deny them victory. That is perhaps the lesson to be learned from this month’s puzzle. The Tata Steel Chess Masters Tournament, held from 17th Jan to 2nd Feb in Wijk aan Zee, Holland, is a Classical Round-Robin event. The current World Chess Champion, Gukesh Dommaraju, led in this, his first tournament since his acclaimed Championship win in 2024. He also faced his 18-year-old Indian colleague, Leon Mendonca, in Round 9—a battle of Indian stars that Gukesh won.
This year marks the 87th anniversary of the Tata Steel Chess Tournament, often likened to the ‘Wimbledon of Chess’. Past winners read like Wimbledon’s illustrious World Class Standings: Euwe, Botvinnik, Tal, Petrosian, Spassky, Karpov, Kasparov, Kramnik, Anand, and Carlsen—the latter having won on numerous occasions.
Although this year’s tournament is its 87th appearance, as noted by its organisers in their introductory literature, it hasn’t been plain sailing. The tournament’s name, structure, and venue have changed over the years, and it wasn’t an international event in its early days.
The earliest tournaments, from 1938, were very small, with groups of only four players, restricted to Dutch participants. By 1943/44, numbers doubled to eight players. World War II halted the 1945 event, but in 1946, an international tournament was organised with ten players. Swedish player Gösta Stoltz and Alberic O’Kelly de Galway from Belgium joined eight Dutch participants. By 1953, the event expanded to twelve players, and an international women’s event was introduced alongside it. The competition’s strength grew steadily until, in 1964, it ‘became the strongest international chess tournament in the world.’
Originally known as The Hoogovens Tournament, named after its sponsor, it merged with British Steel in 1999 and became The Corus Chess Tournament. The Corus Group later morphed into Tata Steel Europe in 2007, and the tournament followed suit in 2011, becoming The Tata Steel Chess Tournament. Despite the name changes, the event has been numbered sequentially from its humble beginnings—so in 2011, it was the 73rd Tata Steel Chess Tournament. Hope that makes it all clear.
Losing, of course, happens in many ways, but being out of step with management over a dress code at an international chess competition—when your trousers are the subject of an arbiter’s scrutiny—is quite unique. I’m referring, of course, to Magnus Carlsen quitting The FIDE World Rapid Chess Championship in New York recently after refusing ‘to change out of jeans to abide by a FIDE dress code.’ Perhaps next time, as The GOAT (awarded by FIDE), he could show up with cloven hooves and long hairy legs. On a happier note, Carlsen set the standard by winning the first of Chess.com’s weekly tournaments dedicated to Freestyle Chess for titled players. With a score of 9.5 points from 10 games, he won the tie-break 77–71.5 against Oleksandr Bortnyk, who also scored 9.5 points. A much-anticipated clash between Carlsen and Hans Niemann in Round 8 ended with Carlsen dismissing his opponent—both on 7 points at the time—with magisterial control, taking the day and springing himself into the lead.
The Challenge
In a thrilling conclusion to the Tata Steel Chess Masters Tournament 2025, 19-year-old Praggnanandhaa R emerged victorious after defeating World Champion Gukesh Dommaraju in a blitz tiebreaker final. Both players had finished the classical rounds tied for first place with 8.5/13 points. This marks a significant achievement for Praggnanandhaa, who continues to establish himself as a force in the elite chess world.
This issue’s chess puzzle is taken from the Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2025 game between Gukesh D v Mendonca, Holland. In the diagram, White had played 39.Rc2, and Black responded 39… Bd7? White was already developing well, but Black’s last move was a blunder, and Gukesh, who was not going to look a gift horse in the mouth, seized the moment and, barring any unforced errors, wrapped up the proceedings!
What was White’s quintessential response that let ‘that chink of light’, I mentioned in the main article above, become Black’s Achilles’ heel, their Waterloo, and sealed the game in White’s favour?
The Solution
40.Bxd6! Black’s previous move should have looked to covering their d-pawn. Gukesh, in post-game analysis, said ‘a blunder by Black letting the d-pawn drop for no compensation!’ 40… Nxd6 41.Qxd6 Qa7 42.Qxe5! Qxe3+. Black looks to winning material with this move either through desperation or overlooking White’s next move that sealed Black’s fate! 43.Rf2 … Black resigned!
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[Image Credit:Times of India]
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