Looking forward to Wijk aan Zee

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73rd Tata Steel Wijk aan Zee 2011 (Preview)

Looking forward to Wijk aan Zee

IM Malcolm Pein - Friday 14th January 2011

Malcolm Pein looks forward to the Tata Steel tournament in Wijk aan Zee.

The 73rd Tata Steel tournament starts today and promises to be a wonderful event. Formerly the Corus tournament, the steel giant and its factory in the Dutch seaside town of Wijk aan Zee have been taken over by the Indian giant. The Tata Steel tournament will have the world's top four players: Magnus Carlsen (1), Viswanathan Anand (2), Levon Aronian and Vladimir Kramnik (4). Nine of the fourteen players are in the top 20 and the average rating is 2736.

The favourites will be strongly challenged by five youg players making their debut in this elite tournament; 16-year-old Anish Giri and Erwin L'Ami from Holland, the reigning European Individual and Russian champion Ian Nepomniachtchi, former world junior champion Maxime Vachier-Lagrave from France and the Chinese number two Wang Hao.

The Wijk aan Zee Festival always has three strong tournaments and this year the B Group is the strongest it has ever been. The winner qualifies for the A group in 2012 and three of the fourteen players are rated over 2700. Luke McShane plays.

This game from the European Blitz caught my eye as the most recent teenage GM came up against one of the most improved players in recent years. Ilya Nyzhnyk from Ukraine recently became a GM at 14 and plays in the C Group at Tata while Radoslaw Wojtaszek of Poland is ranked 20 on the FIDE rating list and was recruited by Vishy Anand to his analytical team.

I Nyzhnyk (2535) - R Wojtaszek (2726)

29th European Blitz Warsaw

Modern Benoni

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 c5 4.d5 d6 5.Nc3 exd5 6.cxd5 g6 7.Nd2 Bg7 8.e4 0-0 9.Be2 Nbd7 10.0-0 Re8 11.a4

(11.Qc2 Nh5!? was the famous game Spassky-Fischer Reykjavik 1972 game 3, Fischer's first win)

11...Ne5 12.Re1 g5!

(Black safeguards his strong knight in the centre by preventing f2-f4)

13.Nf1 h6 14.Ne3 Bd7 15.Qc2 a6 16.a5 Rc8 17.b3 g4 18.Bb2 h5 19.Nc4 Nxc4 20.bxc4 Nxe4! 21.Nxe4 Bxb2 22.Nxd6?

(22.Qxb2 Rxe4 23.Qxb7 Qe7 24.Ra2 Rxc4 was a better chance)

22...Bxa1 23.Rxa1

(23.Nxe8 Qxa5 attacking e1; 23.Nxc8 Qxa5

23...Qf6 0-1

R Wojtaszek

I Nyzhnyk

Final position after 23...Qf6 attacking rook and knight

Gawain Jones defeated the German number one at the same event. Defending this line is not easy in Blitz, Black's pawns are always a little weak. Jones succeeds in opening lines for his rooks and catches the black king.

G Jones - A Naiditsch

29th European Blitz Warsaw

Scotch Game

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Bc5 5.Nxc6 Qf6 6.Qf3 bxc6 7.Nd2 d6 8.Nb3 Bb6 9.a4 a5 10.Bd2 Qxf3 11.gxf3 Ne7 12.Be3 Bxe3 13.fxe3 0-0 14.0-0-0 g6 15.Bc4 Kg7 16.Rd2 f6 17.Nd4 d5 18.Ba2 Rd8 19.h4 Rd6 20.h5 g5 21.h6+ Kg6 22.c4

(Activating the bishop)

22...dxe4 23.c5 Rd8

(23...Rxd4!?)

24.fxe4 f5 25.exf5+ Bxf5 26.Nxf5 Kxf5 27.Rf1+ Kg6

(27...Ke5 28.Rg2)

28.Bb1+ Kxh6 1-0

A Naiditsch