22 January 2022

Magnus Carlsen Pulls Ahead in Wijk aan Zee

Daniil Dubov lost by forfeit to Anish Giri.

Photo: Lennart Ootes / Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2022
Photo: Lennart Ootes / Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2022


In the seventh round of the Tata Steel Masters, Magnus Carlsen won against Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, Santosh Vidit lost to Jorden Van Foreest, Fabiano Caruana defeated Jan-Krzysztof Duda, while the games Esipenko - Shankland, Grandelius - Karjakin, and Rapport - Mamedyarov were drawn.

Daniil Dubov didn't show up for his game Anish Giri and lost by forfeit. According to the official statement, the tournament organisation (after consultation with the chief arbiter) has asked the Russian grandmaster to play wearing a face mask, due to a COVID-19 contamination in his inner circle. Dubov indicated that he refused to play wearing a face mask as a matter of principle. Dubov himself tested negative in a quick scan test and also underwent a PCR-test, of which the result is likely to come soon.

Standings after Round 7:

1. Magnus Carlsen - 5 points
2. Shakhriyar Mamedyarov - 4.5
3-6. Andrey Esipenko, Richard Rapport, Santosh Vidit, Anish Giri - 4
7-9. Sergey Karjakin, Fabiano Caruana, Jorden Van Foreest - 3.5
10-11. Jan-Krzysztof Duda, Sam Shankland - 3
12-13. Daniil Dubov, Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa - 2.5
14. Nils Grandelius - 2.

Round 8 pairings:

Shankland - Carlsen, Mamedyarov - Praggnanandhaa, Karjakin - Rapport, Vidit - Grandelius, Caruana - Van Foreest, Dubov - Duda, and Esipenko - Giri
 
Arjun Erigaisi maintains leadership in the Challengers tournament with 6 points scored. Volodar Murzin has got 4 points, while Polina Shuvalova has scored 2.5.  

Official website