This week's episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an emergency interview with Wijk aan Zee veteran Loek van Wely!

This podcast was recorded in the early afternoon of Thursday, January 29, 2026, on the third and final rest day of the Tata Steel Chess Tournament. Loek has spent the past two weeks in Wijk aan Zee, coaching Dutch GM Max Warmerdam in the Challengers group while keeping an eye on the Masters. With three rounds to go, Uzbekistan’s top player Nodirbek Abdusattorov is leading the Tata Steel Masters, half a point ahead of three pursuers: his countryman Javokhir Sindarov, Jorden van Foreest (winner in 2021) and Germany’s Matthias Bluebaum.

The New In Chess Podcast is coming at you with unprecedented urgency this week! Enjoy.

0:00 – Intro

1:40 – Welcome back once again, Loek!

4:47 – Loek criticises the tournament’s time control

11:58 – Is the FIDE tournament calendar too busy these days?

22:44 – Do players really care about Freestyle?

25:08 – AD BREAK

26:01 – Anish’s bad tournament

28:40 – Bluebaum’s strong performance thus far

31:23 – Jorden’s strong play so far

33:40 – The Uzbeki stars: Abdusattorov and Sindarov

36:35 – Erdogmus, the young superstar: how serious should we take him?

46:40 – Vasyl Ivanchuk’s performance in the Challengers

50:33 – AD BREAK

51:34 – The rest of the Challengers group

54:25 – Abdusattorov: a safe bet with three rounds to go?

56:30 – Hans

59:43 – Loek’s master plan to overtake Erwin l’Ami in the Dutch rating list

1:04:50 – Fedoseev’s beautiful Rc3 against Erigaisi!

1:06:30 – Outro