India’s chess superstar Viswanathan Anand, Holland’s Anish Giri, Azerbaijan’s Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and the US’s Wesley So are co-leaders in the exclusive Masters category of the Tata Steel Chess Tournament ongoing in Wijk aan Zee, Netherlands, after five rounds of the 13-game competition. The Tata Steel Tournament is regarded as one of the strongest in the annual international chess calendar and is enjoying its 80th edition. Owing to the tournament’s longevity and exclusivity, it is fondly referred to as ‘the Wimbledon of Chess’. For example, Tata Steel has attracted six of the world ‘s top ten chess players this year.
Anand, who is leading the current tournament leader, and World Champion Magnus Carlsen have each won it five times. Carlsen is currently in 7th position after five rounds, a full one point behind the leaders. But there are still eight rounds to play, and, therefore, as the common saying contends, it is still anyone’s tournament.
