That is, it starts in just a few hours - later today for many of you, early tomorrow for the rest of us. The annual tournament at Wijk aan Zee (the Tata Steel Chess Tournament) is one of the great events on the yearly chess calendar, not least because it opens the new year for chess fans everywhere.
There's an open tournament, but the main attraction (except to those who are playing in the open event, of course) is the pair of invitational round-robins, especially the A-group. The pairings for that group are, and here they are:
The B- or Challengers Group isn't as loaded, but it's quite strong in its own right as well. Here are its pairings:
It will be interesting to see a new battle of the "Cars", and like a good American I'll be rooting for three of the five S's. (The ones which aren't followed by an "a"; not that I'm rooting against them or anyone else in the event.) I'm also especially curious to see how Wei Yi fares, as he has been widely seen as one of the world's biggest talents. Still one more story line: if Hou Yifan can gain more than two points in the tournament, she will pass Judit Polgar on the rating list.
The action begins at 1:30 p.m. local time in Wijk aan Zee (which is also CET), 7:30 a.m. ET.
Predictions? Alternative story lines?