It's time for the first super-tournament of the year, the near-annual event in Wijk aan Zee that always brings together a hefty chunk of the world's absolute elite, together with a number of young stars and many of the best and brightest players in the Netherlands. This year's main event is as impressive as usual, and features the following lineup:
There is a second event, the Challengers, which counts a couple of ex-2700s in the field (Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu and Alexey Dreev; rising star Sam Sevian is also playing). The winner of this event will receive an automatic invitation to the top group in 2017.
Play starts on Saturday. Predictions?