The study of chess has long been enriched by a mini-glossary of great German words, from zwischenzug (a surprise “in-between” move) and zeitnot (a lack of time on the clock to calculate) to sitzfleisch (the stamina to sit on one’s, er, wallet and stay focused when one’s queen-and-pawn endgame passes the seven-hour mark).
The opening of the 88th edition of the Tata Steel Chess Masters last week in the storied Dutch seaside town of Wijk aan Zee brings to mind another great German word — “schadenfreude” — as we lesser mortals got to see some of the best players in the world committing some close-to-elementary blunders and oversights.
Traditionally the first great tournament of the new year, Tata’s premier tournament is once again stacked, with world champion Dommaraju Gukesh of India and four of the players who will compete in March’s Candidates tournament to pick his next challenger in the 14-grandmaster field.
But two of those would-be challengers came to grief in highly embarrassing fashion in the event’s very first round. Local hero Dutch GM Anish Giri lasted just 23 moves on the Black side of a Queen’s Gambit Accepted against Germany rival GM Vincent Keymer, blundering a piece in what looked like a relatively simple position.
After 18. Rc1 h6 19. Na4, it seems hard to believe the contest will be over in just a few moves, but Black finds a way with the over-intricate 19…Nd4?! (perfectly fine was something like 19…b6 20. h3 Nd5 21. a3 Nce7, with a very playable defense) 20. exd4 Bxa4 21. Rc7 Rb8? (an oddly passive choice given Giri’s 19th move; better was 21…Bc6!, when Black is still fine after 22. Bxa6 Bb6 23. Rxb7 Bxb7 24. Bxb7 Bxd4) 22. Na5 Bxd4?? (even here 22…Nd5 23. Rxb7 Rxb7 24. Nxb7 Bxd4 keeps it a game) 23. Rc4 (of course), and Black resigns as one of his bishops is lost.
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Indian GM Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, who like Giri will be in the Candidates’ field, didn’t hang a piece against compatriot GM Arjun Erigaisi, but did have a positional meltdown on the Black side of another QGA, again trying to be too fancy when solid play was called for.
Pragg’s king gets caught in the center after the ill-advised 12. h3 d3?! (just 12…h6 was fine, with castling to follow quickly) 13. Qxd3 Nxe5 14. Nxe5 Qxe5 15. Nf3 Qd6 16. Qb3, and now Black can at least limit the damage with 16…0-0 17. Rd1 Qb4 18. Bxf7+ Kh8 19. Bd2 Qxb3 20. Bxb3 Bxd2 21. Rxd2.
Instead, Black’s game goes south on the badly misjudged 16…Be6?? 17. Bxe6 fxe6 (Qxe6? 18. Qb5+ picks off the bishop on a5) 18. Rd1 Qb6 19. Qa4+ c6 20. Qe4, and the Black e-pawn will be lost and Giri’s king will be exposed.
Black has no response as White’s pieces load up on the central files, and the defense breaks down for good on 26. Re1 (Rad1 was even more brutal; e.g. 26…Rd8 27. Rxd8+ Bxd8 28. Qe5, threatening a family fork with 29. Rxd8+ Kxd8 30. Qb8+ Kd7 31. Ne5+) Bxf2+ 27. Kxf2 Qxg5 28. Kg2 — Black’s mini-combination nets a pawn, but his defensive vulnerabilities endure.
There followed 28…Qc5 (giving back with 28…Rxf3 29. Rxf3 Rd8 falls to 30. Qe6 Rd2+ 31. Kg3 h5 32. Rf7 Rd3+ 33. Kg2 Rd2+ 34. Kh1 Rd7 35. Rxe7+! Rxe7 36. Qg8+ Kd7 37. Rd1+ Kc7 38. Qd8 mate) 29. Ne5 Rf4 30. Nd7 Qg5 31. Qe6 0-0-0 (finally castling, but it’s far too late) 32. Nf6+, and Black resigned ahead of such gruesome fates as 32…Kc7 33, Qxe7+ Kb6 34. Rb3+ Ka6 35. Qxb7+ Ka5 36. Qxa7 mate.
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World championship matches by definition are supposed to feature the two strongest players on the planet, but even here the contests have seen basic blunders and good old German fingerfehlers.
Bobby Fischer’s ill-advised pawn snatch in the very first game of his 1972 match with Boris Spassky is cited as one prime example, but topping many “Worst Move Ever” lists is Russian great Mikhail Chigorin’s howler in the 23rd and final game of his second unsuccessful title challenge to Austrian champ Wilhelm Steinitz in Havana in 1892. Chigorin trailed by just a single point at the time and needed a win to keep the match going.
This time it’s a King’s Gambit Accepted, giving Chigorin as White the unbalanced position he seeks. Black is doing fine until Steinitz fumbles his edge with 21. c3 Ne2+ 22. Kf2 h4?! (overthinking things; just 22…Nxg3 23. hxg3 [Kxg3 Re2 24. Rf2 h4+ 25. Kf3 Bh5+ 26. g4 Bxg4+!] Re5 24. Nf3 Rb5 puts Black in clear sight of the draw he needs to win) 23. Bd6 Nd4? (Rcd8 is simpler and better) 24. cxd4 Rc2+ 25. Kg1 Ree2 26. Rae1 Rxg2+ 27. Kh1;- Steinitz gets the dreaded doubled rooks on the second rank, but, crucially, White’s bishop has the h-pawn’s back.
White need only keep the h2 square defended to make his extra piece count, making the finale of the game (and the match) even more shocking: 29. Ne6+ (Re7+ was even stronger) Kf6 30. Re7 Rge2 31. d5 Rcd2 (see diagram; Black has no real threats, so now just 32. Rxb7! Bh5 33. Rb3 Rxe6 [Rxd5 34. Nf4] 34. dxe6 Rxd6 35. Re1 wins easily) 32. Bb4?? (the White bishop had just one job, which Chigorin inexplicably overlooks) Rxh2+, and White resigns as it’s mate in one after 33. Kg1 Rdg2 mate.
(Click on the image above for a larger view of the chessboard.)
Keymer-Giri, 88th Tata Steel Chess Masters, Wijk aan Zee, Netherlands, January 2026
1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 e6 5. Bxc4 c5 6. O-O a6 7. Re1 Nc6 8. Nc3 Be7 9. dxc5 Qxd1 10. Rxd1 Bxc5 11. Nd2 O-O 12. Nb3 Ba7 13. Be2 Rd8 14. Bd2 Bd7 15. Be1 Be8 16. Kf1 Rac8 17. Rxd8 Rxd8 18. Rc1 h6 19. Na4 Nd4 20. exd4 Bxa4 21. Rc7 Rb8 22. Na5 Bxd4 23. Rc4 Black resigns.
Erigaisi-Praggnanandhaa, 88th Tata Steel Chess Masters, Wijk aan Zee, Netherlands, January 2026
1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. e4 e5 4. Nf3 exd4 5. Bxc4 Nc6 6. Qb3 Bb4+ 7. Nbd2 Qf6 8. O-O Nge7 9. e5 Qg6 10. Nh4 Qh5 11. Ndf3 Ba5 12. h3 d3 13. Qxd3 Nxe5 14. Nxe5 Qxe5 15. Nf3 Qd6 16. Qb3 Be6 17. Bxe6 fxe6 18. Rd1 Qb6 19. Qa4+ c6 20. Qe4 Qb5 21. Qxe6 Qf5 22. Qe2 Rf8 23. Rd3 Bb6 24. Bg5 Rf7 25. g4 Qg6 26. Re1 Bxf2+ 27. Kxf2 Qxg5 28. Kg2 Qc5 29. Ne5 Rf4 30. Nd7 Qg5 31. Qe6 O-O-O 32. Nf6+ Black resigns.
Chigorin-Steinitz, World Championship Match, Game 23, Havana, February 1892
1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e5 Nh5 5. Be2 g6 6. d4 Bg7 7. O-O d6 8. Nc3 O-O 9. Ne1 dxe5 10. Bxh5 gxh5 11. dxe5 Qxd1 12. Nxd1 Nc6 13. Bxf4 Bf5 14. Ne3 Be4 15. Nf3 Rfe8 16. Ng5 Bg6 17. Nd5 Bxe5 18. Nxc7 Bxc7 19. Bxc7 Rac8 20. Bg3 Nd4 21. c3 Ne2+ 22. Kf2 h4 23. Bd6 Nd4 24. cxd4 Rc2+ 25. Kg1 Ree2 26. Rae1 Rxg2+ 27. Kh1 Kg7 28. Re8 f5 29. Ne6+ Kf6 30. Re7 Rge2 31. d5 Rcd2 32. Bb4 Rxh2+ White resigns.
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