Vedant secures his place in Tata Steel Challengers 2026
Vedant Panesar has fulfilled all criteria to become an IM title. However, he did not want to claim it. He directly wants to get the GM title once he earns it. In the post-tournament interview, he mentioned that he probably earned his 14th IM-norm here. It was not only his first tournament in 2025 but also his first time in Wijk aan Zee and Netherlands. He definitely had a great debut and would like to get back next year as a GM in the Challengers section.
Henru - Vedant, Round 7
FM Vedant Panesar's (2446) favorite game of the tournament is against FM Henry Edward Tudor (ROU, 2375) in Round 7. Vedant mentioned in the post-tournament interview that he set up a stalemate trick 15 moves before it actually happened. White is winning in the above position. However, he needed to be careful. 50.g4?? allowed White to fall into the stalemate combination 50...Rf1+ 51.Kg2 R5f2+ 52.Kg3 Rf3+! the rooks are a liability for Black. Getting rid of them earns him a half point. 53.Rxf3 Rxf3+ 54.Kh4 Rh3+ 55.Kxh3 and it's a draw due to Stalemate. No wonder it is Vedant's favorite game despite him being lost for the majority of the game.
Replay all Qualifier games
Round 9 results
| Qualifiers | 9 | Smeets, Kobe | Slagboom, Leandro | 1-0 |
| Qualifiers | 9 | Tudor, Henry Edward | Sofronie, Iulian | ½-½ |
| Qualifiers | 9 | Grutter, Tim | Zwirs, Nico | ½-½ |
| Qualifiers | 9 | Holzke, Frank | Panesar Vedant | ½-½ |
| Qualifiers | 9 | Lohia, Sohum | Beukema, Stefan | 1-0 |
Final standings cross table
| Nr | Player | KNSB | Fide | Score | SB | TPR | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Panesar Vedant | 2446 | 6 | 26.5 | 2520 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ||
| 2 | Slagboom, Leandro | 2380 | 2369 | 5.5 | 22.75 | 2483 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 2 | Grutter, Tim | 2369 | 2380 | 5.5 | 22.25 | 2482 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | |
| 4 | Smeets, Kobe | 2364 | 2355 | 5 | 22 | 2448 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1 | |
| 4 | Tudor, Henry Edward | 2375 | 5 | 20.75 | 2445 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ||
| 6 | Sofronie, Iulian | 2380 | 4 | 17.75 | 2359 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ||
| 6 | Lohia, Sohum | 2367 | 4 | 16.5 | 2360 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ||
| 8 | Beukema, Stefan | 2424 | 2423 | 3.5 | 16 | 2317 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | 0 | |
| 8 | Holzke, Frank | 2426 | 3.5 | 15.5 | 2317 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ||
| 10 | Zwirs, Nico | 2475 | 2476 | 3 | 13 | 2266 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ |
Time Control
90 minutes for 40 moves, followed by 30 minutes extra time to finish the game, with an increment of 30 seconds per move in the entire game.
