Wednesday evening will see the official opening of the WR Masters at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Düsseldorf. The tournament starts on Thursday at 14:00 with the 1st round. A number of players from the next generation will face the current world elite. For Ian Nepomiachtchi, the tournament is also a dress rehearsal for the World Championship in April. German chess fans are keeping their fingers crossed for Vincent Keymer in particular.
There has been little change at the top of the FIDE world rankings. Magnus Carlsen leads ahead of Ding Liren and Ian Nepomniachtchi. The best woman player is Hou Yifan and the best juniors are Alireza Firouzja and Zhu Jiner.