Ivanchuk Vs The Young Ones: Legend Lines Up For Tata Steel Challengers
He's one of the most creative and charismatic players in world chess, capable of taking out absolutely anyone on a good day. But he's also liable to crash and burn on a bad day.
GM Vasyl Ivanchuk is always one to watch and in January the Ukrainian chess legend is heading to Wijk aan Zee to play in one of the most iconic events in chess.
The 88th edition of the Tata Steel Chess Tournament will take place from January 16 to February 1, 2026, in the Dutch coastal town of Wijk aan Zee.
The Masters is the main event, but alongside that its the Challengers which often produces some of the best chess. It's no also-ran event either. On Tuesday, the organisers announced the line-up—and its a banger!
Tata Steel's second tournament looks carefully chosen to balance youth versus experience, and include some brilliant attackers.
For the "oldies," 56-year-old Ivanchuk is always the choice of the chess romantics. But the 1985-born GM Erwin l’Ami, a familiar face at this event, is the tournament's top seed.
Rated 2630, l’Ami is another fan-favourite the chess community has a lot of love for. The 40-year-old battled back from a Hodgkin’s Lymphoma diagnosis four years ago and has since posted a remarkable series of career-best performances. He's won the Dutch championship, and performed well at Wijk aan Zee last year.
In a long career, l'Ami has hit the top 100 and been a second for GMs Veselin Topalov and Anish Giri.
For the "young 'uns," all eyes will be (as always) on GM Faustino Oro, the so-called "Messi of Chess" from Argentina. Oro is the hottest thing in chess right now, a nailed-on superstar for the future. Him versus Ivanchuk is going to be a fascinating match-up.
The American GM Andy Woodward is another huge talent. Woodward, now 15, qualified for the highest title in chess last year at the age of 13 years and eight months. This month, he competed at the FIDE World Cup in Goa after being handed a wild card.
Oro looks like he'll make grandmaster even faster, and perhaps break the record. The 11-year-old has achieved grandmaster norm and 2500 rating already—Tata Steel could yield Oro's second norm.
Despite the big draws, four extremely strong female players are all in with strong chances of winning the tournament.
IM Lu Miaoyi, rated 2441, is the next Chinese super-talent off the block. Born in 2010, she is among the top female juniors globally and is also the current Chinese Women's Champion.
IM Carissa Yip, the four-time U.S. Women's Champion, will be gunning for a GM norm. It seems inconceivable she isn't already a grandmaster.
GM Bibisara Assaubayeva is the highest-rated woman in the tournament with 2513. The Kazakhstani is a two-time Women's World Blitz Champion.
The Dutch players IM Eline Roebers, aged 19, and GM Max Warmerdam, who competed in the Masters in 2025, have been brought in to add fireworks. Both will be home favourites of course, and are known for taking a no-compromise approach to their games.
GMs Aydin Suleymanli, Velimir Ivic, Daniil Yuffa, French Champion Marc’Andria Maurizzi and Indian IM Panesar Vedant complete a line-up with an average rating of 2544.
Jeroen van den Berg, Tournament Director of Tata Steel Chess Tournament, said: “The Challengers field is once again a wonderful mix of experience and young talent.
"What’s special this year is that four women will compete for the title. We are proud to welcome legends like Vasyl Ivanchuk (56), a former Masters winner in 1996, alongside prodigies such as Faustino Oro (12) and Andy Woodward (15).
"And of course, it’s fantastic that Eline Roebers, one of the Netherlands’ greatest talents, is back. This promises to be a spectacular tournament."
It seems incredible that a tournament this interesting is only second on the bill. But that's one of the reasons why the Tata Steel festival is branded the "Wimbledon of Chess."