Tata Steel Chess 2026 - Challengers
14 players participated in this 13-round tournament, held from 17 Jan 2026 to 01 Feb 2026 in Wijk aan Zee, Netherlands. 14 titled players from 8 federations. Top 10 Elo average was 2592, and top seed was Velimir Ivic (🇷🇸 SRB, GM, 2638).
Andy Woodward (🇺🇸 USA, GM, 2608) won with 10.0/13, ahead of Vasyl Ivanchuk (9.5) and Aydin Suleymanli (9.0). Woodward took the lead from round 11.
The biggest upset came in round 9: Miaoyi Lu (IM, 2431) beat Velimir Ivic (GM, 2638), a +207-point gap.
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How it unfolded
Top 14 · 13 rounds4 leader changes shaped the tournament; Woodward pulled away in R11.
GM Aydin Suleymanli takes the sole lead (2.5/3).
GM Andy Woodward lost to GM Vasyl Ivanchuk (Black).
GM Andy Woodward 5 wins (R2–R6)GM Vasyl Ivanchuk 3 wins (R6–R8)GM Aydin Suleymanli 3 wins (R8–R10)
Cross-table
| # | Player | Elo | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | Pts | SB | Bh | Δ Elo | Perf |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 🇺🇸GMWoodward, Andy | 2608 | * | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10.0 | 56.50 | 81.0 | +23.3 | 2750 |
| 2 | 🇺🇦GMIvanchuk, Vasyl | 2605 | 1 | * | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 9.5 | 59.75 | 81.5 | +18.7 | 2714 |
| 3 | 🇦🇿GMSuleymanli, Aydin | 2628 | ½ | 0 | * | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 9.0 | 52.50 | 82.0 | +9.8 | 2679 |
| 4 | 🇫🇷GMMaurizzi, MarcAndria | 2611 | 0 | ½ | 0 | * | 1 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8.0 | 44.00 | 83.0 | +2.7 | 2626 |
| 5 | 🇰🇿GMAssaubayeva, Bibisara | 2497 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | * | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 7.5 | 45.25 | 83.5 | +19.1 | 2605 |
| 7 | 🇦🇷IMOro, Faustino | 2516 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | * | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 7.0 | 37.50 | 84.0 | +10.3 | 2575 |
| 6 | 🇺🇸IMYip, Carissa | 2466 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | * | 1 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7.0 | 37.00 | 84.0 | +19.6 | 2579 |
| 8 | 🇳🇱GMWarmerdam, Max | 2576 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | * | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | 6.5 | 40.50 | 84.5 | -5.7 | 2542 |
| 9 | 🇷🇸GMIvic, Velimir | 2638 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | * | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 6.0 | 36.75 | 85.0 | -22.4 | 2508 |
| 10 | 🇪🇸GMYuffa, Daniil | 2604 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | * | 1 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 5.5 | 31.50 | 85.5 | -21.1 | 2483 |
| 11 | 🇳🇱GML'Ami, Erwin | 2634 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | * | ½ | 1 | 1 | 5.0 | 28.25 | 86.0 | -31.4 | 2450 |
| 12 | 🇮🇳FMPanesar Vedant | 2406 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | * | 0 | 1 | 4.0 | 23.50 | 87.0 | -0.1 | 2414 |
| 13 | 🇨🇳IMLu, Miaoyi | 2431 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | * | 0 | 3.5 | 20.25 | 87.5 | -9.2 | 2378 |
| 14 | 🇳🇱IMRoebers, Eline | 2398 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | * | 2.5 | 12.25 | 88.5 | -13.6 | 2304 |
Key insights
Biggest movers and upsets — the story behind the numbers.
- 1Woodward, AndyGMUSA+23.310.0 pts · #1
- 2Yip, CarissaIMUSA+19.67.0 pts · #6
- 3Assaubayeva, BibisaraGMKAZ+19.17.5 pts · #5
- 1L'Ami, ErwinGMNED-31.45.0 pts · #11
- 2Ivic, VelimirGMSRB-22.46.0 pts · #9
- 3Yuffa, DaniilGMESP-21.15.5 pts · #10
- R9+207 Elo gap
- R5+206 Elo gap
- R5+172 Elo gap