SPOT ON CHESS PUZZLES: Way to Go GM WEI! (2024 Tata Steel Masters Champion)

The tie-break games from Tata Steel Masters 2024!

You have to like a humble top level player like GM Wei... I would love to see him ascend to the World Chess Championship throne. But that requires so many things to line up in one's life and the effort given to such an undertaking requires total dedication. But being a player from China where they have a sufficiently large talent pool from upon which to draw means they - the Chinese Nation - could set up a system that would rival that of the former Soviet Union and end up producing the majority of top level chess players in the World. Them and India would be in a race for that top honor! Riding such a wave to the World Chess Championship could be GM Wei Yi.

The format for these Tie-Break games was that each player would play a knock out round of two games each at a time control of three minutes per game plus a two second increment added per move from move one - for each player. Very quick indeed! As there were four players who tied for first place the two winners in the first round matches would face off in a final... the Indian super GM Gukesh came up short against the Chinese Chess Superstar in the final this time around. In round one Gukesh overcame GM Giri and our Champion GM Wei had to overcome rising chess world star GM Abdusattorov. And in the first game he ended up drawing when Nodirbek overlooked a perpetual check draw from a clearly winning position. Such are the vagaries of blitz chess tie break games! Wei Yi went on to win the second game and thus the match with one and half points out of a possible two games. Which is what set up the aforementioned final against GM Gukesh where he again prevailed with a draw and a win to take that match as well.

Enjoy the games and see you later on down the time line! ~ S.