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A Visual Recap of Wijk aan Zee 2026

Very interesting statistics.
It is a remarkable trend in recent top tournaments that black scores so well.
Black is the new white.
The white advantage of the initiative of moving first is nullified by better black preparation.

Very interesting statistics. It is a remarkable trend in recent top tournaments that black scores so well. Black is the new white. The white advantage of the initiative of moving first is nullified by better black preparation.

Thanks for another great article!

I was wondering whether the players, who play in the Candidates, were struggling a bit, because they were actively avoiding playing openings, they are planning to use in the Candidates. This could e.g. maybe explain, why Pragg had only one game, where he was better...

Thanks for another great article! I was wondering whether the players, who play in the Candidates, were struggling a bit, because they were actively avoiding playing openings, they are planning to use in the Candidates. This could e.g. maybe explain, why Pragg had only one game, where he was better...

@xxonx said:

Thanks for another great article!

I was wondering whether the players, who play in the Candidates, were struggling a bit, because they were actively avoiding playing openings, they are planning to use in the Candidates. This could e.g. maybe explain, why Pragg had only one game, where he was better...

I'm not too sure how much hiding prep plays a part, as the players can still play their usual openings and well known lines

@xxonx said: > Thanks for another great article! > > I was wondering whether the players, who play in the Candidates, were struggling a bit, because they were actively avoiding playing openings, they are planning to use in the Candidates. This could e.g. maybe explain, why Pragg had only one game, where he was better... I'm not too sure how much hiding prep plays a part, as the players can still play their usual openings and well known lines

The Other opening seems to be gaining in popularity. I need to study it.

The Other opening seems to be gaining in popularity. I need to study it.

@jk_182 said:

@xxonx said:

Thanks for another great article!

I was wondering whether the players, who play in the Candidates, were struggling a bit, because they were actively avoiding playing openings, they are planning to use in the Candidates. This could e.g. maybe explain, why Pragg had only one game, where he was better...

I'm not too sure how much hiding prep plays a part, as the players can still play their usual openings and well known lines

Sure, but these are also well known to their opponents, so they might lose the whole surprising-your-opponent-factor...

@jk_182 said: > @xxonx said: > > Thanks for another great article! > > > > I was wondering whether the players, who play in the Candidates, were struggling a bit, because they were actively avoiding playing openings, they are planning to use in the Candidates. This could e.g. maybe explain, why Pragg had only one game, where he was better... > > I'm not too sure how much hiding prep plays a part, as the players can still play their usual openings and well known lines Sure, but these are also well known to their opponents, so they might lose the whole surprising-your-opponent-factor...

@tpr said:

Very interesting statistics.
It is a remarkable trend in recent top tournaments that black scores so well.
Black is the new white.
The white advantage of the initiative of moving first is nullified by better black preparation.

Im not super convinced that black simply would have better preparation. Maybe (I think) it is because theres a big enough skill gap between some players to allow for black to simply outplay a weaker opponent who has white, so black will actually rack up some points. For example, Nguyen was losing a lot of games with white which fed black points.

@tpr said: > Very interesting statistics. > It is a remarkable trend in recent top tournaments that black scores so well. > Black is the new white. > The white advantage of the initiative of moving first is nullified by better black preparation. Im not super convinced that black simply would have better preparation. Maybe (I think) it is because theres a big enough skill gap between some players to allow for black to simply outplay a weaker opponent who has white, so black will actually rack up some points. For example, Nguyen was losing a lot of games with white which fed black points.

"black simply would have better preparation"

  • Black can specialize in one: Marshall, Open Ruy Lopez, Berlin, Petrov, Sveshnikov, Najdorf, French, Caro-Kann, white has to be prepared for all. White must go broader, black can go deeper.
"black simply would have better preparation" * Black can specialize in one: Marshall, Open Ruy Lopez, Berlin, Petrov, Sveshnikov, Najdorf, French, Caro-Kann, white has to be prepared for all. White must go broader, black can go deeper.