It seems as if the chess world is acknowledging the importance of traditional chess with the hosting of two esteemed classical events. Classical chess is what is ordinarily known as slow chess; not rapid, blitz or bullet chess. The first tournament of 2023 was held mid to late January, namely the Tata Steel Tournament at Wijk aan Zee, Netherlands, which was attended by Norway’s world champion Magnus Carlsen. The other is the WR Chess Masters which ends today in Dusseldorf, Germany. Russia’s Ian Nepomniachtchi who will be playing for the classical world championship title in April, was one of the three top seeds. Similar to the Tata Tournament, the Dusseldorf event is a 10-player single round robin one.
