Tactics in Elite Chess: Four Puzzles from the 2026 Tata Steel Chess (Masters)

The Tata Steel Chess Tournament is one of the most prestigious events in the chess calendar, held each January in the beautiful seaside town, Wijk aan Zee. It features a 13-round round-robin format with the world’s best players, as well as promising rising talents. In this blog, I present four positions from games played in the masters section of the tournament, where one side has to find a series of only moves to secure a win. Good luck and enjoy the positions!

Position 1: Anish Giri - Javokhir Sindarov (Round 2)

This game started off with the English opening, which quickly appeared as if a Catalan transposition would soon occur. However, Sindarov decides to spice things up after a short think on move four, when he pushed his pawn to d4, resulting in a reversed benoni-like structure. The first person to be surprised in this game was Giri, when Sindarov played 12...b6, leading to white taking a 15 minute think despite the line being played recently by top players such as Keymer, Nepomniachtchi, and So. Both players navigated the middlegame well, eventually trading all the pieces off the board, resulting in a king and pawn endgame. Prior to reaching move 40, Giri made a fatal error with 39.c5; however, despite gaining the extra time, Sindarov failed to spot the winning continuation and relinquished his advantage with 41...a5. Can you spot the move which could have won the game for black?

Position 2: Matthias Bluebaum - Javokhir Sindarov (Round 4)

This game opened with the King’s Indian Defense, a pet opening and personal favourite of Sindarov. As expected from the KID, the engine gave a small advantage to white throughout the early stages of the game up to the early middlegame. However, after capturing what seemed like a free pawn on move 17, Sindarov swung his queen over to the king-side which combined with his knight on h5 and opened light-square bishop created serious threats towards white’s king. Sindarov soon sacrificed his bishop and after being under immense pressure for several moves, Bluebaum blundered with 24.Qc5. Can you spot the move which wins the game on the spot for black?

Position 3: Gukesh D - Anish Giri (Round 7)

This game started off in the Reversed Sicilian with Giri opting for 6...Bc5, a rare move, in the Four Knights variation. Gukesh, the reigning World Champion was well-prepared, unleashing the novelty 8.Qb3, the first surprise of the game. Despite both sides using plenty of time early on due to the rarity of the position, the middlegame was played with high accuracy. The game first shifted in black’s favour after the inaccuracy 22.Qc4 where black’s pieces were able to place white in a chokehold. Ultimately, Gukesh blundered with 31.Qd6 which allowed black to win immediately. Can you find the move which was brilliantly spotted by Giri during the game?

Position 4: Vladimir Fedoseev - Aravindh Chithambaram (Round 13)

This game featured an uncommon variation of the Queen’s Gambit Declined where Fedoseev delayed developing the g1 Knight, instead playing Bf4 and a3. Nonetheless, Aravindh was well prepared and in 10 moves, the position became symmetrical, similar to the quiet variations that arise from the Queen’s Gambit Accepted. Despite this being the last round, both players continued the game with a fighting spirit; however, eventually the game fizzled out to a balanced minor pieces and rook endgame. The engine claimed there were many opportunities for black to draw but with white being up a pawn, it was always practically easier for white to play and seek chances for more. Eventually, with his time down to a minute, Aravindh made a blunder before reaching time control with 38...Bxf5. Can you find the move for Fedoseev which wins him a piece?