Sindarov Denies Gukesh As Niemann, Keymer, Arjun Pounce On Blunders
World Cup winner GM Javokhir Sindarov pulled off a 78-move great escape against World Champion Gukesh Dommaraju to bring a dramatic first day of the 2026 Tata Steel Chess Masters to a close. The first moves were delayed 1.5 hours by an environmental protest outside the venue, and some players seemed shaken as GMs Vladimir Fedoseev, Anish Giri, and Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu all blundered early to give wins to GMs Hans Niemann, Vincent Keymer, and Arjun Erigaisi respectively.
The 2026 Tata Steel Chess Challengers started slower but ultimately produced four wins, including GM Bibisara Assaubayeva taking down GM Andy Woodward and 14-year-old IM Lu Miaoyi overcoming GM Max Warmerdam.
Round two starts on Sunday, January 18, at 8 a.m. ET/ 14:00 CET / 6:30 p.m. IST.
Masters: Gukesh Thwarted On Day Of Early Blunders
The 2026 edition of Tata Steel Chess got off to a dramatic start, both on and off the board. The tournament, now in its 88th edition, has always been sponsored by the local steelworks, which while providing employment has also been criticized for its inevitable impact on the environment.
Two years ago, the group Extinction Rebellion had blocked a road to the venue, while this year they dropped two tons of coal in front of the entrance, protestors chained themselves to fencing, and a banner reading "No chess on a dead planet" was draped over the sports hall.
The start of Round 1 of Tata Steel Chess 2026 has been postponed because of the protest outside the venue, with no new start time yet confirmed https://t.co/aS6kdyA3TS
— chess24 (@chess24com) January 17, 2026
That left hundreds of amateur players milling around outside the venue when the event was supposed to begin.
Current situation pic.twitter.com/W0oWogK7BV
— Peter Doggers (@peterdoggers) January 17, 2026
The organizers were forced to delay the first round and released a statement calling on "all parties to respect the tournament."
The organisation of the Tata Steel Chess Tournament respects the right to demonstrate and the freedom to express opinions. At the same time, the tournament is an international sporting and cultural event that brings together players, visitors and chess fans from around the world.
In the end, however, 90 minutes later than expected, the chess was able to go ahead, and what followed was no less dramatic.
Tata Steel Masters: Round 1 Results
There were three decisive results in the Masters, and the shock was that the latest the outcome was in doubt in any game was move 22.
Niemann 1-0 Fedoseev
"I was concerned after the late start the game could finish really late, but I’m early to dinner," said Niemann, about a game that he won in just 16 moves.
At least Fedoseev could take comfort from others having lost even quicker games in Wijk aan Zee.
Objectively Fedoseev was busted after falling into a trap, but Niemann was surprised his opponent didn't fight on, commenting, "He said he resigned out of frustration." The U.S. star also noted, "I feel a bit bad for him—you never really want to win like this, but I’m sure he’ll have plenty of opportunities to come back."
I feel a bit bad for him—you never really want to win like this!
—Hans Niemann
The mistake had come two moves earlier with 14...Nxc5?, a move that Niemann "realized looks tempting" during the eight minutes Fedoseev contemplated it.
Before the tournament began, Niemann had shared the woes of his business class travel to the venue.
I wanted to share a behind the scenes story of what the life of a chess player is really like. Before Wijk Aan Zee, I decided to stop in Vienna on the way to Wijk Aan Zee and I conveniently found a very reasonably priced business class ticket. My trip started rather smoothly, I…
— Hans Niemann (@HansMokeNiemann) January 13, 2026
Then he told WIM Fiona Steil-Antoni:
I wrote this thing about my travel nightmare, and at the end I did say this is a sign of good luck to come, so I suppose travel nightmares are now the undeniable omen for successful results! I think I’m going to start flying impossible routes to every single tournament so I can keep whatever luck or voodoo magic I did to receive such an opening gift.
Gifts were in plentiful supply in Wijk aan Zee, with local legend Giri making what Keymer called, "a very unusual blunder by him."
Keymer 1-0 Giri
Blunders tend to come when players are under pressure, and that was the case in all three decisive games in the Masters. Although Giri sprang the first surprise (Keymer: "He a little bit surprised me with the Queen’s Gambit Accepted, although I kind of expect to be surprised by Anish"), the German number-one was able to reel off preparation until move 18. The position was only slightly better for White, though as Keymer noted, "I get a game, I can play," which he felt was already something in modern chess.
From there, however, things moved fast. Giri went astray and was already in a difficult situation when 22...Bxd4?? lost on the spot. Keymer realized he could move his rook back, attack two bishops, and it was time for the 2023 champion to resign.
Keymer got off to a winning start in a tournament he begins as the top seed, since only the absent GMs Magnus Carlsen, Hikaru Nakamura, and Fabiano Caruana are rated higher. He commented of that, "It’s kind of a nice situation. It shows I had a great last year, now being number four."
The final decisive game was also an opening disaster, though Praggnanandhaa still fought on until the bitter end.
Arjun 1-0 Praggnanandhaa
Arjun has had some miserable years in the Tata Steel Chess Masters, but after four losses and no wins earlier in the tournament, he ended the 2025 edition with wins over GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Gukesh. He's now on a run of three wins in a row after taking down the reigning champion Praggnanandhaa, and commented: "It definitely feels good. The last couple of times I played this tournament, it took me forever to win games and I’m happy to start well."
The last couple of times I played this tournament, it took me forever to win games and I'm happy to start well.
—Arjun Erigaisi
In this case Praggnanandhaa's mistake is easy to understand, with Arjun explaining, "He spent a lot of time trying to recall the line, but I think it’s very difficult if you haven’t checked it in recent times." 11...Ba5?, played after a 30-minute think, was a serious step in the wrong direction, and things escalated fast until there was essentially no way back after 16 moves, though that didn't stop Praggnanandhaa playing on and at least getting the bragging rights of castling as late as move 31!
"I’m happy to be back and happy to start well," said Arjun, who remained exactly one point behind Keymer on the rating list, while Praggnanandhaa dropped to 10th place.
The remaining games were drawn, but it was only 14-year-old GM Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus' game against Abdusattorov that passed almost entirely without incident. Erdogmus played the Exchange Variation of the Ruy Lopez that had given him a match victory over GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave a month ago, but Abdusattorov chose a quieter alternative on move nine and made an effortless draw.
GM Jorden van Foreest against GM Thai Dai Van Nguyen, and GM Matthias Bluebaum against GM Aravindh Chithambaram, needed to find some very sharp tactical details to hold, but when they did, the games quickly ended in draws by repetition.
The final draw, however, was anything but quick.
Sindarov ½-½ Gukesh
This year's big change in Wijk aan Zee is that the time control has been changed to the one currently being used for the FIDE Candidates Tournament. Instead of 100 minutes for 40 moves, there's 120 minutes, but with the twist of no increment during that time. Then instead of 50 minutes being added at move 40, just 30 minutes are added, though the 30-second increment does kick in.
Sindarov-Gukesh was a slow burner, but approaching the time control, it exploded into life with Sindarov going astray and Gukesh brilliantly giving up his queen with 39...Qxb4!! when he had 31 seconds on his clock.
He looked to be doing everything right after that, but he was constantly walking a tightrope—an acrobatic feat not helped by the noise from over-enthusiastic fans in the venue. One slip was all it took for Sindarov to pounce and force a draw.
Sindarov puts up stunning defense to escape with a draw against Gukesh! https://t.co/pgYBYi9yMb pic.twitter.com/Oc8ObhwnBm
— chess24 (@chess24com) January 17, 2026
That brought a peaceful end to a game that had showcased the very best of both players and makes it our Game of the Day, which GM Dejan Bojkov has analyzed below.
Challengers: Assaubayeva, Lu Score Upset Wins
Tata Steel Challengers: Round 1 Results
There were more decisive results in the Challengers, and it was a tough day for the home favorites, as all three Dutch players lost.
20-year-old GM Aydin Suleymanli counterattacked to take down former Dutch Champion GM Erwin l'Ami with the black pieces, and FM Panesar Vedant, the winner of last year's Qualifiers, scored a relatively smooth win over IM Eline Roebers, but the standout results are two wins for female underdogs.
GM Bibisara Assaubayeva was at times completely busted against 15-year-old GM Andy Woodward, despite being three pawns up, but she pointed to the clock as helping her to win, saying, "During the whole game I had a time advantage, and I think it was very important because we don’t have increment until move 40, and in the end he blundered."
The final mistakes came when Woodward had just over a minute to Assaubayeva's 11 minutes.
The other win was for 14-year-old Lu, who took down the experienced Dutch GM Warmerdam.
The game was much more even, on the board and on the clock, but it was mainly the Chinese youngster who was pressing and picked up a deserved win. We join the action at a moment when she could have played a brilliant clinching move!
Lu was one of seven players to get off to a great start in Wijk aan Zee, but there are no fewer than 12 rounds still to go in a tournament more gruelling than any event other than the Candidates. Abdusattorov-Praggnanandhaa and Giri-Sindarov will be among the games to look forward to on Sunday.
The 88th edition of Tata Steel Chess takes place January 17-February 1, 2026, in Wijk aan Zee, the Netherlands. Both the Masters and Challengers groups are 14-player round-robin tournaments. The time control is 120 minutes for 40 moves followed by 30 minutes to the end of the game, with a 30-second increment only from move 41. No draw offers are allowed before move 40.
Previous coverage:
Colin McGourty led news at Chess24 from its launch until it merged with Chess.com a decade later. An amateur player, he got into chess writing when he set up the website Chess in Translation after previously studying Slavic languages and literature in St. Andrews, Odesa, Oxford, and Krakow.
