Russian grandmaster Andrey Esipenko, 18, has finished third at the prestigious Tata Steel Masters chess tournament in Holland, finishing ahead of world champion Magnus Carlsen, whom he managed to beat.
The sole representative of Russia amazed fans and pundits by his solid and mature game, winning the improvised bronze at the tournament dubbed the ‘Wimbledon of chess’, a 16-day event comprising 13 classical rounds.
In the final round the Russian teenage sensation beat Alexander Donchenko of Germany to score eight points, which was enough to take third place overall.
Esipenko created one of the biggest sensations at the tournament by inflicting a crushing defeat on the world’s best chess player Carlsen, ending his impressive winning streak of 125 games.
Jorden van Foreest became the first Dutch player in 36 years to win the Tata Steel Chess Tournament.
Congratulations to Jorden van Foreest on winning #TataSteelChess 2021. Also congratulations to Anish Giri and Andrey Esipenko for standing second and third respectively. pic.twitter.com/YAAWjWivV5
The 21-year-old Dutchman defeated his compatriot Anish Giri in a dramatic playoff after both collected 8.5 points during 13 rounds.
Carlsen beat Maxime Vachier-Lagrave of France in his last game, but still finished only sixth, recording his lowest place since he first played at the tournament aged 16.
