Tata Steel Chess Masters: Wei Yi wins title on tie-breaks; Gukesh finishes second
In the final, the 24-year-old grandmaster Wei, 16th in the FIDE world ranking, defeated Gukesh with a draw with the black pieces and a victory with white.
THE HAGUE: Chinese grandmaster Wei Yi claimed the Tata Steel Chess Tournament title for the first time in the Netherlands on Sunday, beating Gukesh Dommaraju from India in a sensational tiebreak decider.
It was the 86th edition of the prestigious chess tournament held at Wijk aan Zee, a village on the Dutch west coast.
In the final, the 24-year-old grandmaster Wei, 16th in the FIDE world ranking, defeated Gukesh with a draw with the black pieces and a victory with white.
In the 13th and final regular round of the tournament earlier on Sunday, Wei beat Vidit Santosh Gujrathi from India, defending champion Anish Giri from the Netherlands defeated compatriot Max Warmerdam, Nodirbek Abdusattorov from Uzbekistan overpowered German Alexander Donchenko, and Gukesh tamed Iranian Parham Maghsoodloo.
“I feel really excited and very happy to win this very strong event,” said Wei Yi on how he felt after winning 86th Tata Steel Masters 2024. “Of course because I think it’s my biggest achievement in chess career,” he added after becoming the first champion of Tata Steel Masters from China.
The results meant four players finished on top on 8.5 points: Wei, Gukesh, Giri and Abdusattorov.
In the semifinals of the tiebreak, Wei beat Abdusattorov, and Gukesh defeated Giri.
Chinese reigning world champion Ding Liren, ranked fourth in the FIDE world ranking, the highest ranked player present in Wijk aan Zee, finished 8th with six points, and China’s Ju Wenjun, current and four times women’s world champion, finished 10th with 4.5 points.
