The World Champion Magnus Carlsen, who is currently holding titles in classical, rapid and blitz chess, finally won his first Wijk aan Zee game in Round 8. In the fight for pole position, Caruana caught up with Firouzja after prevailing over Anand in a dramatic and irrational encounter.

Carlsen had his first chance to score in eight rounds and he didn't let it slip through his fingers. Nikita Vitiugov replaced Nepomniatchiy at the last moment and it definitely won't be the case of Team Denmark in Euro 1992. In the last few rounds he was not playing his best, and it's a sure recipe for disaster before a game against Carlsen. After the opening Vitiugov got a set-up where according to Magnus White has more psychological than a real advantage, but was playing quite passive and his position started to deteriorate. Anyway, it was far from over had Nikita played 29...Nd4. 29...f6 was definitely wrong and after 30.Bd5 Vitiugov was "fed up" with his position (this term was used by Carlsen) and just resigned immediately.

Fabiano Caruana - Vishwanathan Anand game was a miracle for the American and a real chess tragedy for Anand who lost the game he was extremely close to winning. Anand playing with Black stirred up action by sacrificing his central pawn with 11...a4. It took Caruana by surprise and he decided to part with an exchange to keep his pawn structure intact. In a very complicated position, both players were playing top-notch chess (Anand's 24...Rc1! was especially good as at that moment Caruana believed he was winning) until Fabiano panicked in the time trouble and blundered with 37.Qf6+?? (after 37.Nf6 White still had full compensation). The resulting endgame was winning for Black, but suddenly things went terribly wrong for Vishwanathan Anand. First, Vishy missed a clear win (44...Nb3) and then let his opponent keep his dangerous f7-pawn alive on several occasions. As a result, gradually Black's position became dangerous. 52...Ra1 was the final straw that broke camel's back - after that Caruana was playing for a win and eventually scored a full point. A painful loss for Anand, and even such a great professional will need a rest day to come through it.

Jorden Van Foreest - Alireza Firouzja game was a bit overshadowed by Carlsen's win and Caruana - Anand encounter, but the youngsters still managed to entertain spectators both in the playing hall and online. Van Foreest chose a rare 6.Rg1 in Najdorf Sicilian and then surprised the audience with 11.Kd1!? voluntarily giving up his castling option. The game transposed into a complex endgame where opponents were well-matched and a draw came as a logical outcome.

Black finally had two victories in Round 8 (the score was 17-1 in favor of White before this day). Jan-Krzysztof Duda gradually outplayed Yu Yangyi in an equal rook endgame - the Chinese GM is clearly struggling in Wijk aan Zee. Vladislav Kovalev scored his first win after outlasting Jeffery Xiong. It was a typical come-from-behind victory - Xiong had a clear advantage after the opening and was looking for the moment to deliver a final blow. Then out of nowhere, he made the weirdest move of the tournament - 28.Nxa7? grabbing a triply protected pawn. It was definitely a result of some hallucination, but White's position was so overwhelming that even being a piece down Xiong could have made a draw. Unfortunately, Jeffery was still chasing this elusive win and after 42.Rd3? fxg3 43.fxg3 h4! everything turned upside down. Kovalev realized that he had got a chance and did not let it go.

Anish Giri drew his game with Vladislav Artemiev where at some moment he was even on a "worse end of a draw" as he said himself; Daniil Dubov - Wesley So was practically a no-game as a draw was agreed on move 15.

Tomorrow is the rest day. Round 9 will be played on Tuesday. All eyes will be on an epic Firouzja - Carlsen encounter especially after their last game in World Blitz Championship where Firouzja was winning, lost on time and filed a protest against Carlsen's behavior during the game that was rejected by the Appeals Committee.

Official site: https://www.tatasteelchess.com/
Photo: Alina l’Ami

Tata Steel Masters 2020 Standings after Round 8:

1-2. Firouzja, Caruana - 5½;
3-4. Van Foreest, So - 5;
5-6. Duda, Carlsen - 4½;
7-9. Dubov, Artemiev, Giri - 4;
10. Anand - 3½;
11. Xiong - 3;
12-14. Vitiugov, Yu Yangyi, Kovalev - 2½.