It was the day of the underdog in Wijk aan Zee as Dutch number two GM Jorden van Foreest beat Dutch number one GM Anish Giri and German number two Matthias Bluebaum did the same to German number one GM Vincent Keymer. The winners caught GMs Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Hans Niemann, and Arjun Erigaisi in a five-way tie for the 2026 Tata Steel Chess Masters lead after the remaining games were drawn.
It was all change in the 2026 Tata Steel Chess Challengers as GM Andy Woodward took down the previously perfect IM Lu Miaoyi, allowing GM Aydin Suleymanli to take the sole lead on 2.5/3 after beating IM Eline Roebers. GMs Vasyl Ivanchuk, Daniil Yuffa, and Max Warmerdam also won on a day with a single draw, IM Bibisara Assaubayeva vs. IM Faustino Oro.
This is a flash report—come back later for full player quotes and analysis!
Round four starts on Tuesday, January 20, at 8 a.m. ET/ 14:00 CET / 6:30 p.m. IST.
Masters: Van Foreest, Bluebaum Join The Leaders
Tata Steel Masters: Round 3 Results
For a second round in a row we saw two wins in the Masters.
Tata Steel Masters: Standings After Round 3
We now have a five-way tie for first, while everyone is off the mark.
Our Game of the Day is Van Foreest’s impressive victory over Giri, which GM Dejan Bojkov will analyze below.
Challengers: Suleymanli Grabs Sole Lead On Day Of 6 Wins
Almost all games were decisive in the Challengers.
Tata Steel Challengers: Round 3 Results
We got a new sole leader, 20-year-old Suleymanli, though no less than seven players are half a point behind.
How To Watch
The 88th edition of Tata Steel Chess takes place January 17-February 1, 2026, in Wijk aan Zee, the Netherlands. Both the Masters and Challengers groups are 14-player round-robin tournaments. The time control is 120 minutes for 40 moves followed by 30 minutes to the end of the game, with a 30-second increment only from move 41. No draw offers are allowed before move 40.
Previous coverage:
