
The first Underdog of 2025 has been chosen by Robert Ris. It is IM Lu Miaoyi. Currently, she is playing formidable at the Tata Steel Chess Festival tournament. She is second worst rated in the Challengers group, but could already gather 4.5 out of 8 points. One favourite to win the Challengers in Wijk aan Zee is Frederik Svane, who advanced to Germany's second-best player behind Vincent Keymer. Frederik Svane played as Black in the French exchange variation, against Lu Miaoyi, and the board was on fire quickly.