World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen won clear first in a dramatic edition of Tata Steel Chess. Carlsen scored 9/13, half a point ahead of the field. Newly transferred US GM Wesley So tied for 2nd-5th with GMs Anish Giri (Netherlands) Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France) and Liren Ding (China). Wesley gained 25 points in the event, even withstanding a marathon queen endgame loss to Anish Giri. Giri is now #6 in the live chess rating list, while So is #7.
7786
7785
7788
In the challengers, Sam Shankland had 9/13 points and said, "After a very frustrating start and middle of the tournament where I failed to convert several extremely promising positions, I managed to keep my head on straight and finish with three straight wins to salvage a ~2700 performance. Congrats to Wei Yi for ripping through the field like a juggernaut and taking first, and I'd like to take this opportunity to thank the organizers for inviting me and holding such a wonderful event. Finally heading home tomorrow after over 2 months on the road, and after 15 days of intense cold wind, I'm pleased to say my next tournament will be in Hawaii!."
He will write an article on breaking the top 100 players in the World and his recent tournament adventures. Sam Sevian, also in the Challengers scored 7.5/13. Sevian and Shankland's trips to Wijk aan zee were both supported by the Kasparov Chess Foundation.
Find full details on Tata Steel Chess on the official website.