Tata Steel Chess Tournament

Despite the name changes, the series is numbered sequentially from its Hoogovens beginnings; for example, the 2025 event was referred to as the 87th Tata Steel Chess Tournament.

[4][5] Since 1938, there has been a long list of famous winners, including Max Euwe, Bent Larsen, Tigran Petrosian, Paul Keres, Lajos Portisch, Boris Spassky, Mikhail Botvinnik, Mikhail Tal, Viktor Korchnoi, Jan Timman, Anatoly Karpov, Vladimir Kramnik, Garry Kasparov, Viswanathan Anand, Veselin Topalov, and Magnus Carlsen.

Of the fifteen undisputed World Chess Champions since the first tournament in 1938, only five – Alexander Alekhine, Vasily Smyslov, Bobby Fischer, Ding Liren and Gukesh Dommaraju – have not won it.

The first international tournament was held in 1946, with the field expanded to ten, and invitations to Alberic O'Kelly de Galway (Belgium) and Gösta Stoltz (Sweden) along with a Dutch contingent of eight.

Food shortages were still a problem in Europe, so the post-tournament banquet featured pea soup, inexpensive fare of the common people.

In subsequent years pea soup has been served as the first course of the concluding banquet, a tradition continued when the tournament was moved from Beverwijk to Wijk aan Zee.

[7] Winners of the top group:[8] The tournament was moved to the Dutch seaside town Wijk aan Zee in 1968.