Gukesh leads the Tata Steel Masters on 8/11 half a point clear of Praggnanandhaa and Abdusattorov

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87th Tata Steel 2025 (10)

Gukesh leads the Tata Steel Masters on 8/11 half a point clear of Praggnanandhaa and Abdusattorov

Mark Crowther - Friday 31st January 2025

Caruana at the moment he made the losing blunder against Praggnanandhaa. Photo ©

Caruana at the moment he made the losing blunder against Praggnanandhaa. Photo © | https://tatasteelchess.com/en

The Tata Steel Masters heads into the final two rounds with three players in contention for first place. Gukesh's draw took him to 8/11 and a win for Praggnanandhaa put him right back in it on 7.5 points. Nodirbek Abdusattorov let a win escape against Vincent Keymer but stays very much in contention on 7.5 points as well. The leaders now all face players in the bottom half of the field, one of those players is however Arjun Erigaisi who faces two of them and may try to salvage something from an otherwise terrible event by winning these key games.

World Champion Gukesh was held to a draw by Wei Yi. The Chinese player felt he was under pressure for much of the game although the engines didn't have such worries. Praggnanandhaa emerged victorious in a wild struggle against Fabiano Caruana where both players were happy to head for unclear complications. Caruana had the chance to head for an endgame with 28.Qf2 when most likely he would not have lost and maybe he would have won, in the end he was down to a minute and under attack when he blundered with 32.Qe3? the engine thinks 32.Qe2 is equal but the game would still have been wide open at least. Vincent Keymer was doing fine against Abdusattorov until his terrible idea of 28.h4? followed by 29.dxe5 left him dead lost. Abdusattorov only needed to find 38...Qh5 to win the game, instead he blundered into a drawn endgame with 38...Qe7? Pentala Harikrishna beat Alexey Sarana in a fine game where he found a sneaky tactic to win material.

Anish Giri beat Max Warmerdam in a Giuoco Pianissimo where black was doing fine until he played 25...Bg6? and 27...Ra6?, and then he wasn't. Leon Luke Mendonca was probably the happiest player today when his game tournament was crowned with a win against Vladimir Fedoseev who blundered with 27.Be2? and found there was no fixing it. Erigaisi against Jorden Van Foreest was a Saemisch Nimzo-Indian which might be theoretically interesting but just drifted to a draw after the opening.

In the Challengers it was all change at the top when Frederik Svane beat the leader Thai Dai Van Nguyen allowing Erwin L'Ami to retake the lead alone when he beat Miaoyi Lu and Aydin Suleymanli is also now tied for second after beating Vaishali. This event definitely isn't settled.

My thanks to Michiel Abeln for the photos and notes to the games.

Masters Round 11 Standings: 1st Gukesh 8pts, 2nd= Praggnanandhaa, Abdusattorov 7.5pts, 4th= Fedoseev, Giri, Wei Yi 6pts, 7th= Caruana, Harikrishna 5.5pts, 9th Sarana 5pts, 10th= Van Foreest 4.5pts, 12th Mendonca 4pts, 13th= Warmerdam, Erigaisi 3.5pts,

Masters Round 12 pairings on Feb 1st at 13.00 GMT Erigaisi vs Abdusattorov, Harikrishna vs Keymer, Praggnanandhaa vs Sarana, Mendonca vs Caruana, Warmerdam vs Fedoseev, Wei vs Giri, Van Foreest vs Gukesh,

Challengers Round 11 Standings: 1st L'Ami 8pts, 2nd= Nguyen, Suleymanli 7.5pts, 4th= Bok, Svane 7pts, 6th= Gurel, Nogerbek, Yakubboev 6pts, 9th Lu 5.5pts, 10th= Pijpers, Vaishali 5pts, 12th Divya, Deshmukh 3pts, 13th Oro, Faustino 2.5pts, 14th Bulmaga, Irina 1pt

Challengers Round 12 pairings: Feb 01 at 13.00 GMT Yakubboev vs Pijpers, Divya vs Bok, Nguyen vs Bulmaga, Suleymanli vs Svane, Gurel vs Vaishali, L'Ami vs Nogerbek, Oro vs Lu,

Tienkamp Round 7 of 9 Standings: 1st= Slagboom, Grutter 5pts, 3rd Panesar Vedant 4.5pts, 4th Smeets 4pts, 5th Tudor 3.5pts, 6th Beukema 3pts, 7th= Holzke, Lohia, Zwirs, Sofronie 2.5pts.

Round 11 Summary

Gukesh vs Wei Yi Tata Steel 2025 Round 11 Photo © Michiel Abeln.

Gukesh vs Wei Yi Tata Steel 2025 Round 11 Photo © Michiel Abeln

Wei Yi held a draw with the black pieces against Gukesh in a Two Knights. 6.Nbd2 was a wrinkle that caused both players to use a lot of time. 10.Nb3 cost Gukesh over 40 minutes and 10...Kh8 was Wei Yi's big think but about lines with 11.dxe5 not the 11.h3 played. Wei Yi felt he had to bail out into an endgame due to time pressure and that this had the potential to be difficult for him. As it was he held comfortably after activating his pieces.

Wei Yi explains his draw against the World Champion

Caruana vs Praggnanandhaa Tata Steel 2025 Round 11 Photo © Michiel Abeln.

Caruana vs Praggnanandhaa Tata Steel 2025 Round 11 Photo © Michiel Abeln

Praggnanandhaa beat Fabiano Caruana on the black side of a very sharp Queen's Gambit. When Caruana played 11.0-0-0 castling on the opposite side to black the game became very sharp and hard to evaluate. Most likely Praggnanandhaa is correct in saying that Caruana should have played 28.Qf2 which likely would have seen Queens come off and an endgame where white is a bit better would result. As it was Caruana went down below a minute and his King was under severe pressure, he could have held with 32.Qe2 which the engines say is equal but instead 32.Qe3 lost immediately. Both players deserve a lot of credit for this fighting game.

Praggnanandhaa explains his win.

Keymer vs Abdusattorov Tata Steel 2025 Round 11 Photo © Michiel Abeln.

Keymer vs Abdusattorov Tata Steel 2025 Round 11 Photo © Michiel Abeln

Vincent Keymer and Nodirbek Abdusattorov was the last game to finish and it was another disappointment for Abdusattorov who mangled a winning position. Keymer has fought in almost every game and this has led to some serious errors and also some miraculous saves, he should probably try to stop the blundering. Here 28.h4? and 29.dxe5? left him busted but Abdusattorov blundered back within sight of victory with 38...Qe7? which is already practically equal, 38...Qh5! would have led to a win, and 38...Qf5 was much better than his continuation. Abdusattorov tried for a very long time but the win had gone.

Fedoseev vs Mendonca Tata Steel 2025 Round 11 Photo © Michiel Abeln.

Fedoseev vs Mendonca Tata Steel 2025 Round 11 Photo © Michiel Abeln

Leon Luke Mendonca has kept going in the tournament despite being bottom seed, having a disappointing loss in round 1 from a great position and then being sick for the following rounds. He picked up his first win against Vladimir Fedoseev today. 27.Be2? was a mistake from Fedoseev likely just a losing one, he was certainly lost two moves later and it's difficult to see what else he could have done.

Leon Luke Mendonca was really happy after his win against Fedoseev and explains it here.

Sarana vs Harikrishna Tata Steel 2025 Round 11 Photo © Michiel Abeln.

Sarana vs Harikrishna Tata Steel 2025 Round 11 Photo © Michiel Abeln

Pentala Harikrishna got back to a 50% score by defeating Alexey Sarana in a rather unusual Queen's Gambit where they were on their own after 8.Nxd4. Sarana had been undefeated until his loss in Round 10, today he lost again and it was due to the careless 25.Bxc4? which allowed the alert tactic 26...Ba4! winning the exchange. Whilst he retained some drawing chances Sarana was completely lost by move 30 and resigned on move 40.

Harikrishna explains his game.

Anish Giri gradually outplayed Max Warmerdam on the white side of a Giuoco Pianissimo where he didn't have much until 25...Bg6? put black under pressure and 27...Ra6? was the losing move.

Jorden Van Foreest and Arjun Erigaisi drew a Saemisch Nimzo Indian in 32 moves. It's possible that the opening is of theoretical interest but the game itself petered out to a draw.

Standings

87th Tata Steel Masters Wijk aan Zee (NED), 18 i-2 ii 2025																cat. XX (2726)
					1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0	1	2	3	4
1.	Gukesh, D	g	IND	2777	*	½	½	½	1	½	½	1	½	.	1	1	.	1	8	2893
2.	Praggnanandhaa, R	g	IND	2741	½	*	½	1	0	½	1	1	.	½	.	1	1	½	7½	2861
3.	Abdusattorov, Nodirbek	g	UZB	2768	½	½	*	½	½	½	½	.	1	1	½	1	.	1	7½	2850
4.	Fedoseev, Vladimir	g	SLO	2717	½	0	½	*	½	.	1	1	0	½	1	0	1	.	6	2767
5.	Giri, Anish	g	NED	2731	0	1	½	½	*	.	½	½	½	.	½	½	½	1	6	2763
6.	Wei, Yi	g	CHN	2751	½	½	½	.	.	*	½	½	½	½	½	½	½	1	6	2759
7.	Caruana, Fabiano	g	USA	2803	½	0	½	0	½	½	*	½	½	1	1	.	½	.	5½	2733
8.	Harikrishna, Pentala	g	IND	2695	0	0	.	0	½	½	½	*	1	½	.	½	1	1	5½	2723
9.	Sarana, Alexey	g	SRB	2677	½	.	0	1	½	½	½	0	*	½	½	.	½	½	5	2700
10.	Van Foreest, Jorden	g	NED	2680	.	½	0	½	.	½	0	½	½	*	½	½	½	½	4½	2659
11.	Keymer, Vincent	g	GER	2733	0	.	½	0	½	½	0	.	½	½	*	1	½	½	4½	2661
12.	Mendonca, Leon Luke	g	IND	2639	0	0	0	1	½	½	.	½	.	½	0	*	½	½	4	2628
13.	Erigaisi, Arjun	g	IND	2801	.	0	.	0	½	½	½	0	½	½	½	½	*	0	3½	2577
14.	Warmerdam, Max	g	NED	2646	0	½	0	.	0	0	.	0	½	½	½	½	1	*	3½	2593

Round 11 (January 31, 2025)
Gukesh, D	- Wei, Yi	½-½	30	C55	Two Knights Defence
Fedoseev, Vladimir	- Mendonca, Leon Luke	0-1	40	E04	Catalan
Giri, Anish	- Warmerdam, Max	1-0	38	C50	Giuoco Piano
Caruana, Fabiano	- Praggnanandhaa, R	0-1	37	D35	QGD Exchange
Sarana, Alexey	- Harikrishna, Pentala	0-1	40	D37	QGD 5.Bf4
Van Foreest, Jorden	- Erigaisi, Arjun	½-½	32	E24	Nimzo Indian Saemisch
Keymer, Vincent	- Abdusattorov, Nodirbek	½-½	77	B13	Caro Kann Exchange

Tata Steel Challengers Wijk aan Zee (NED), 18 i-2 ii 2025																cat. XII (2547)
					1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0	1	2	3	4
1.	L'Ami, Erwin	g	NED	2614	*	½	½	1	½	.	½	½	1	½	.	1	1	1	8	2724
2.	Nguyen, Thai Dai Van	g	CZE	2668	½	*	½	.	0	½	1	½	1	1	1	½	1	.	7½	2679
3.	Suleymanli, Aydin	g	AZE	2623	½	½	*	½	.	1	0	1	½	½	1	1	1	.	7½	2676
4.	Bok, Benjamin	g	NED	2583	0	.	½	*	½	½	½	1	1	½	½	.	1	1	7	2639
5.	Svane, Frederik	g	GER	2664	½	1	.	½	*	½	½	.	0	½	½	1	1	1	7	2623
6.	Nogerbek, Kazybek	g	KAZ	2514	.	½	0	½	½	*	½	½	0	½	1	1	.	1	6	2588
7.	Yakubboev, Nodirbek	g	UZB	2659	½	0	1	½	½	½	*	0	.	.	0	1	1	1	6	2589
8.	Gurel, Ediz	g	TUR	2624	½	½	0	0	.	½	1	*	½	1	.	0	1	1	6	2571
9.	Lu, Miaoyi	m	CHN	2429	0	0	½	0	1	1	.	½	*	½	½	1	.	½	5½	2556
10.	Pijpers, Arthur	m	NED	2474	½	0	½	½	½	½	.	0	½	*	½	.	½	1	5	2512
11.	Vaishali, Rameshbabu	g	IND	2476	.	0	0	½	½	0	1	.	½	½	*	½	1	½	5	2503
12.	Divya, Deshmukh	m	IND	2490	0	½	0	.	0	0	0	1	0	.	½	*	0	1	3	2379
13.	Oro, Faustino	m	ARG	2447	0	0	0	0	0	.	0	0	.	½	0	1	*	1	2½	2358
14.	Bulmaga, Irina	m	ROU	2386	0	.	.	0	0	0	0	0	½	0	½	0	0	*	1	2160

Round 11 (January 31, 2025)
Bok, Benjamin	- Pijpers, Arthur	½-½	30	A15	English counter King's Fianchetto
Svane, Frederik	- Nguyen, Thai Dai Van	1-0	56	C55	Two Knights Defence
Nogerbek, Kazybek	- Gurel, Ediz	½-½	31	D41	Semi-Tarrasch Defence
Lu, Miaoyi	- L'Ami, Erwin	0-1	66	C54	Giuoco Piano
Vaishali, Rameshbabu	- Suleymanli, Aydin	0-1	48	B74	Sicilian Dragon
Oro, Faustino	- Yakubboev, Nodirbek	0-1	47	E46	Nimzo Indian Rubinstein
Bulmaga, Irina	- Divya, Deshmukh	0-1	36	C11	French Defence

Tata Steel Top Tienkamp Wijk aan Zee (NED), 17 i-2 ii 2025															cat. VI (2400)
					1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0
1.	Slagboom, Leandro	f	NED	2369	*	1	½	.	0	½	1	.	1	1	5	2573
2.	Grutter, Tim	f	NED	2380	0	*	.	½	1	1	½	1	.	1	5	2543
3.	Panesar, Vedant	f	IND	2446	½	.	*	1	½	1	.	½	½	½	4½	2494
4.	Smeets, Kobe	f	NED	2355	.	½	0	*	1	0	½	1	1	.	4	2463
5.	Tudor, Henry Edward	f	ROU	2375	1	0	½	0	*	½	1	½	.	.	3½	2395
6.	Beukema, Stefan	m	BEL	2423	½	0	0	1	½	*	.	.	0	1	3	2347
7.	Holzke, Frank	g	GER	2426	0	½	.	½	0	.	*	½	½	½	2½	2284
8.	Lohia, Sohum	f	ENG	2367	.	0	½	0	½	.	½	*	1	0	2½	2303
9.	Zwirs, Nico	m	NED	2476	0	.	½	0	.	1	½	0	*	½	2½	2293
10.	Sofronie, Iulian	m	ROU	2380	0	0	½	.	.	0	½	1	½	*	2½	2310