The Corus chess tournament takes place every year, usually in January, in a small town called Wijk aan Zee, part of the larger Beverwijkin the province of North Holland in the Netherlands. It was called the Hoogovens tournament before the Dutch steel and aluminium producer Koninklijke Hoogovens merged with British Steel to form the Corus Group on 6 October 1999. Corus first sponsored the event in 2000. From 1938 to 1967, the tournament took place in Beverwijk. January is the first month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of seven Gregorian months with the length of 31 days. ... Beverwijk (population: 36,995 in 2004) is a municipality and a town in the north-western Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. ... Beverwijk (population: 36,995 in 2004) is a municipality and a town in the north-western Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. ... Capital Haarlem Queens Commissioner Mr. ... The old steel cable of a colliery winding tower Steel is a metal alloy whose major component is iron, with carbon being the primary alloying material. ... General Name, Symbol, Number aluminium, Al, 13 Chemical series poor metals Group, Period, Block 13, 3, p Appearance silvery Atomic mass 26. ... Koninklijke Hoogovens was a Dutch steel producer founded in 1918. ... British Steel is a large British steel producer, privatised in 1988 under the Thatcher government. ... Corus Group plc, normally referred to simply as Corus, (LSE: CS., Euronext: CORS, NYSE: CGA) is one of the worlds largest producers of steel and aluminium, headquartered in London, United Kingdom. ... October 6 is the 279th day of the year (280th in leap years). ... 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... Beverwijk (population: 36,995 in 2004) is a municipality and a town in the north-western Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. ...

While it is true that very strong chess players compete in the prestigious tournament, regular club players are welcome to play as well. The top 'A' section pits 14 of the world's best against each other in a round-robin tournament. Since 1938, there has been a long list of famous winners, including: Max Euwe, Bent Larsen, Tigran Petrosian, Paul Keres, Efim Geller, Lajos Portisch, Boris Spassky, Mikhail Botvinnik, Mikhail Tal, Viktor Korchnoi, Anatoly Karpov, Vladimir Kramnik, Garry Kasparov and Viswanathan Anand. In fact, of the world champions since World War II, only the names of Vassily Smyslov and Bobby Fischer are missing. In 2001, nine of the top ten players in the world participated. Chess is an abstract strategy board game for two players. ... A round-robin tournament or all-play-all tournament is a type of tournament in which each participant plays every other participant an equal number of times. ... Machgielis (Max) Euwe (last name is pronounced /ø:wÉ™/) (May 20, 1901 – November 26, 1981) was a Dutch chess player. ... Bent Larsen Bent Larsen (born March 4, 1935) is a Danish chess player. ... Tigran Petrosian. ... Paul Keres (born January 7, 1916, in Narva, Estonia; died June 5, 1975, in Helsinki, Finland) was an Estonian chess grandmaster and one of the strongest chess players of all time, apart from the World chess champions. ... Efim Petrovich Geller (March 2, 1925 – November 17, 1998) was a Soviet chess player. ... Lajos Portisch is a Hungarian chess player, born in 1937, whose positional style earned him the nickname of the Hungarian Botvinnik. One of the strongest non-Soviet grandmasters in the 1960s and 1970s, he participated in 12 straight interzonals and qualified for the candidates cycle 5 times. ... Boris Spassky Boris Vasilievich Spassky (also Spasski) (Бори́с Васи́льевич Спа́сский) (born January 30, 1937) is a Russian chess player and former world champion. ... Mikhail Moiseevich Botvinnik (Михаи́л Моисе́евич Ботви́нник) (August 17, 1911 - May 5, 1995) was a Russian International Grandmaster and long-time World Champion of chess. ... Mikhail Tal Mikhail Nekhemievich Tal (Latvian: Mihails Tāls, Russian: Михаил Нехемьевич Таль) (November 9, 1936 - June 28, 1992), born in Riga, Latvia, was the eighth World Chess Champion. ... Viktor Korchnoi (also Korchnoy, Kortchnoy, Kortschnoj, etc) (Ви́ктор Льво́вич Корчно́й) (born March 23, 1931) is a professional chess player. ... Anatoli Yevgenyevich Karpov (Анато́лий Евге́ньевич Ка́рпов) (born May 23, 1951) is a Russian chess grandmaster and former World Champion. ... Vladimir Kramnik (Владимир Крамник), born June 25, 1975, is a Russian chess player and the current Classical World Chess Champion (although, due to a political rift in the world of chess, some consider FIDE champion Veselin Topalov to be the true World Champion). ... Garry Kasparov Garry Kimovich Kasparov (IPA: ; Russian: Га́рри Ки́мович Каспа́ров) (born April 13, 1963) is a chess grandmaster and former World Chess Champion. ... Viswanathan Anand Viswanathan Anand (IPA: ) (born December 11, 1969 in Chennai (then called Madras), India) is an Indian chess grandmaster. ... Vasily Smyslov Vasily Vasiliyevich Smyslov (Васи́лий Смысло́в) (born March 24, 1921) is a chess player. ... Bobby Fischer. ...

Viswanathan Anand is the only player to have won five titles of the Corus chess tournament (he won one of these titles when it was called the Hoogovens tournament) in its long history. Anand also holds the record of most consecutive games played at this tournament without a loss (70 -- from 1998-2004). Max Euwe, Lajos Portisch and Viktor Korchnoi won Corus four times each.

Tournament History

Winners of the Grandmaster A group since 1996 have been: The title International Grandmaster is awarded to world-class chess masters by the world chess organization FIDE. Apart from World Champion, Grandmaster is the highest title a chess player can attain. ...

• 1996 - Vassily Ivanchuk
• 1997 - Valery Salov
• 1998 - Vladimir Kramnik and Viswanathan Anand
• 1999 - Garry Kasparov
• 2000 - Garry Kasparov
• 2001 - Garry Kasparov
• 2002 - Evgeny Bareev
• 2003 - Viswanathan Anand
• 2004 - Viswanathan Anand
• 2005 - Péter Lékó
• 2006 - Veselin Topalov and Viswanathan Anand

Vassily Ivanchuk (Васи́лий Ива́нчук), born March 18, 1969 in Berejiany, Ukraine, is a Ukrainian chess grandmaster. ... Valery Salov (born May 26, 1964) is a Russian chess grandmaster. ... Vladimir Kramnik (Владимир Крамник), born June 25, 1975, is a Russian chess player and the current Classical World Chess Champion (although, due to a political rift in the world of chess, some consider FIDE champion Veselin Topalov to be the true World Champion). ... Viswanathan Anand Viswanathan Anand (IPA: ) (born December 11, 1969 in Chennai (then called Madras), India) is an Indian chess grandmaster. ... Garry Kasparov Garry Kimovich Kasparov (IPA: ; Russian: Га́рри Ки́мович Каспа́ров) (born April 13, 1963) is a chess grandmaster and former World Chess Champion. ... Garry Kasparov Garry Kimovich Kasparov (IPA: ; Russian: Га́рри Ки́мович Каспа́ров) (born April 13, 1963) is a chess grandmaster and former World Chess Champion. ... Garry Kasparov Garry Kimovich Kasparov (IPA: ; Russian: Га́рри Ки́мович Каспа́ров) (born April 13, 1963) is a chess grandmaster and former World Chess Champion. ... Evgeny Bareev (b. ... Viswanathan Anand Viswanathan Anand (IPA: ) (born December 11, 1969 in Chennai (then called Madras), India) is an Indian chess grandmaster. ... Viswanathan Anand Viswanathan Anand (IPA: ) (born December 11, 1969 in Chennai (then called Madras), India) is an Indian chess grandmaster. ... Péter Lékó Péter Lékó (b. ... Veselin Topalov Veselin Topalov (Bulgarian: ; born Ruse, Bulgaria, March 15, 1975) is a Bulgarian chess player. ... Viswanathan Anand Viswanathan Anand (IPA: ) (born December 11, 1969 in Chennai (then called Madras), India) is an Indian chess grandmaster. ...

External links

• Corus chess tournament official website
• Viewable games from 2005 Corus Chess Tournament
• List of all the previous winners