Now is when 2026 really starts, at least for chess players.

The latest edition of Tata Steel Masters and Challengers tournaments are due to kick off on Saturday at Wijk aan Zee in the Netherlands.

All year chess fans and players alike wait for this to come around, because the "Wimbledon of chess" is without doubt one of the highlights of the calendar.

History In The Making

Wijk aan Zee is steeped in tradition and is an event where history is made.

This year will be no exception.

India's reigning World Champion GM Gukesh D heads a 14-player line-up for the Masters. Four of the eight Candidates who will meet in March to decide his 2026 challenger will be there.

Round 1, which starts on Saturday, sees Gukesh face 2025 Chess World Cup winner GM Javokhir Sindarov, one of the Candidates. You can see the full Tata Steel Masters pairings here.

This year there will also be intense focus on the Challengers tournament.

Star of the show is 12-year-old Argentinian sensation IM Faustino Oro, who hopes to break GM Abhimanyu Mishra's record as the youngest ever grandmaster achieving his third and final GM norm.

Oro, the "Messi of Chess," enters on the back of winning his second norm just before Christmas at the Magistral Szmetan–Giardelli tournament in Argentina.

Two GM norms in two tournaments to clinch the most prestigious title in chess, at one of the most prestigious events, and break the record doing so would be astonishing.

Round 1 starts on Saturday at 2pm local time. Games will be broadcast live and free at the official site here.

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