TWIC is 30. First issue 17th September 1994.
87th Tata Steel 2025 (3)
Praggnanandhaa and Abdusattorov share lead in the Tata Steel Masters after three rounds
FM Michiel Abeln and Mark Crowther - Monday 20th January 2025
Praggnanandhaa beat Erigaisi to remain in the joint lead after 3 rounds. Photo © | https://tatasteelchess.com/en
The third round of the Tata Steel Masters saw five draws and the only decisive results came right at the end but they did mean Praggnanandhaa and Nodirbek Abdusattorov were in a two way share of the lead. The draws came in stark contrast to the seven white wins in the Challengers group which really shook up the standings there.
In the Masters Praggnanandhaa converted an advantage over a struggling Arjun Erigaisi. Max Warmerdam was still very much in the game against Nodirbek Abdusattorov until very near the end when his position collapsed, although his position was surely harder to handle. Wei Yi finally got a real game against Vincent Keymer but was on the worse side of the draw. Gukesh was a bit better against Fabiano Caruana when he acquiesced to the repetition offered. It was a relief to see Leon Luke Mendonca, who hasn't been well, get his first half point against Pentala Harikrishna. Giri-Fedoseev and Van Foreest Sarana were also drawn.
My thanks to Michiel Abeln for writing today's report, annotating the games and providing the pictures you can read in the main body of the article, this allowed me to work on today's TWIC.
Masters Round 3 Standings: 1st= Praggnanandhaa, Abdusattorov 2.5pts 3rd= Caruana, Gukesh, Keymer 2pts 6th= Wei Yi, Sarana, Fedoseev, Harikrishna 1.5pts 10th= Warmerdam, Van Foreest, Giri 1pt 13th= Mendonca, Erigaisi 0.5pts.
Masters Round 4 Pairings 21st Jan 1pm GMT: Erigaisi-Fedoseev, Caruana-Giri, Sarana-Gukesh, Keymer-Van Foreest, Abdusattorov-Wei, Harikrishna-Warmerdam, Praggnanandhaa-Mendonca.
Challengers Round 3 Standings: 1st= Lu, Nguyen, L'Ami 2.5pts, 4th= Suleymanli, Gurel 2pts, 6th= Nogerbek, Yakubboev, Bok, Vaishali, Frederik Svane 1.5pts 11th Faustino Oro 1pt 12th= Divya, Pijpers 0.5pts 14th Bulmaga 0pts
Challengers Round 4 Pairings 21st Jan 1pm GMT: Yakubboev-Vaishali, Svane-Nogerbek, Bulmaga-Lu, Bok-Oro, Pijpers-L'Ami, Divya-Gurel, Nguyen-Suleymanli,
Round 3 Report by Michiel Abeln
The third round of the Tata Steel Masters was a bit more quiet with some quick draws. At the end of the day only Praggnanandhaa and Abdusattorov managed to win, which brought them to a shared first place with 2½ out of 3.
Praggnanandhaa vs Arjun Erigaisi Tata Steel 2025 Round 3 Photo © Michiel Abeln
Praggnanandhaa was a bit lucky in round one to escape with a draw but today he won an important game against Arjun. So far Arjun is having a difficult time with each round highly technical positions. Today Praggnanandhaa emerged with some pressure from a Catalan opening. For a long time the position was ok for Black, but a mistake on moves 32 gave White a decisive advantage.
Max Warmerdam vs Nodirbek Abdusattorov Tata Steel 2025 Round 3 Photo © Michiel Abeln
Abdusattorov also managed to grind out a win from Warmerdam. Both players shuffled pieces around for many moves until in time trouble Warmerdam blundered a pawn. He then sacrificed a second pawn for active counterplay but after mutual mistakes Black won.
Gukesh vs Caruana Tata Steel 2025 Round 3 Photo © Michiel Abeln
Gukesh went for a quick move repetition today against Caruana. He certainly had options to continue the fight, he had a small advantage, but behind the board the position was hard to assess.
Giri vs Fedoseev Tata Steel 2025 Round 3 Photo © Michiel Abeln
Jorden Van Foreest vs Alexey Sarana Tata Steel 2025 Round 3 Photo © Michiel Abeln
Giri did not get much against Fedoseev and the game between Sarana and Van Foreest was also not too exciting.
Wei Yi vs Vincent Keymer Tata Steel 2025 Round 3 Photo © Michiel Abeln
Despite the draw outcome there were some fireworks in the game between Wei Yi and Keymer. This time Keymer was on the good side of the draw and he missed an opportunity to open the position and achieve a large advantage.
Mendonca got off the mark against Harikrishna Tata Steel 2025 Round 3 Photo © Michiel Abeln
Mendonca has physically not been feeling well and today he went for a solid setup against Harikrishna after having started the tournament with two losses. The game saw a typical isolated pawn structure that was soon heading towards a draw.
In the Challengers all games were decisive including some big mistakes (Svane blundered a full piece as early as move 20). The lead is now shared by Lu, L'Ami and Nguyen with 2½ out of 3.
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. | Praggnanandhaa, R | g | IND | 2741 | * | ½ | . | . | . | . | . | . | 1 | . | . | . | . | 1 | 2½ | 3027 | |||||||
| 2. | Abdusattorov, Nodirbek | g | UZB | 2768 | ½ | * | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | 1 | . | . | 1 | . | 2½ | 2948 | |||||||
| 3. | Caruana, Fabiano | g | USA | 2803 | . | . | * | ½ | . | ½ | . | . | . | . | 1 | . | . | . | 2 | 2861 | |||||||
| 4. | Gukesh, D | g | IND | 2777 | . | . | ½ | * | . | . | ½ | . | . | . | . | 1 | . | . | 2 | 2875 | |||||||
| 5. | Keymer, Vincent | g | GER | 2733 | . | . | . | . | * | ½ | . | . | . | ½ | . | . | 1 | . | 2 | 2803 | |||||||
| 6. | Wei, Yi | g | CHN | 2751 | . | . | ½ | . | ½ | * | . | ½ | . | . | . | . | . | . | 1½ | 2737 | |||||||
| 7. | Fedoseev, Vladimir | g | SLO | 2717 | . | . | . | ½ | . | . | * | . | . | . | ½ | ½ | . | . | 1½ | 2729 | |||||||
| 8. | Sarana, Alexey | g | SRB | 2677 | . | . | . | . | . | ½ | . | * | . | ½ | ½ | . | . | . | 1½ | 2692 | |||||||
| 9. | Harikrishna, Pentala | g | IND | 2695 | 0 | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | * | . | . | . | ½ | 1 | 1½ | 2727 | |||||||
| 10. | Warmerdam, Max | g | NED | 2646 | . | 0 | . | . | ½ | . | . | ½ | . | * | . | . | . | . | 1 | 2601 | |||||||
| 11. | Van Foreest, Jorden | g | NED | 2680 | . | . | 0 | . | . | . | ½ | ½ | . | . | * | . | . | . | 1 | 2607 | |||||||
| 12. | Giri, Anish | g | NED | 2731 | . | . | . | 0 | . | . | ½ | . | . | . | . | * | . | ½ | 1 | 2640 | |||||||
| 13. | Mendonca, Leon Luke | g | IND | 2639 | . | 0 | . | . | 0 | . | . | . | ½ | . | . | . | * | . | ½ | 2459 | |||||||
| 14. | Erigaisi, Arjun | g | IND | 2801 | 0 | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | 0 | . | . | ½ | . | * | ½ | 2449 | |||||||
| Round 3 (January 20, 2025) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Praggnanandhaa, R | - Erigaisi, Arjun | 1-0 | 60 | E04 | Catalan | |
| Gukesh, D | - Caruana, Fabiano | ½-½ | 24 | D38 | QGD Ragozin | |
| Wei, Yi | - Keymer, Vincent | ½-½ | 27 | C50 | Giuoco Piano | |
| Warmerdam, Max | - Abdusattorov, Nodirbek | 0-1 | 57 | C77 | Ruy Lopez Anderssen | |
| Van Foreest, Jorden | - Sarana, Alexey | ½-½ | 42 | B50 | Sicilian Defence | |
| Giri, Anish | - Fedoseev, Vladimir | ½-½ | 30 | C55 | Two Knights Defence | |
| Mendonca, Leon Luke | - Harikrishna, Pentala | ½-½ | 44 | E52 | Nimzo Indian | |
| 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. | Lu, Miaoyi | m | CHN | 2429 | * | . | . | . | . | . | 1 | 1 | ½ | . | . | . | . | . | 2½ | 2824 | |||||||
| 2. | Nguyen, Thai Dai Van | g | CZE | 2668 | . | * | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | 1 | . | ½ | 1 | . | 2½ | 2814 | |||||||
| 3. | L'Ami, Erwin | g | NED | 2614 | . | . | * | . | . | 1 | ½ | . | . | . | . | . | . | 1 | 2½ | 2817 | |||||||
| 4. | Suleymanli, Aydin | g | AZE | 2623 | . | . | . | * | . | ½ | . | . | . | . | . | 1 | ½ | . | 2 | 2640 | |||||||
| 5. | Gurel, Ediz | g | TUR | 2624 | . | . | . | . | * | 0 | . | . | . | . | . | . | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2606 | |||||||
| 6. | Bok, Benjamin | g | NED | 2583 | . | . | 0 | ½ | 1 | * | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | 1½ | 2620 | |||||||
| 7. | Svane, Frederik | g | GER | 2664 | 0 | . | ½ | . | . | . | * | . | . | . | 1 | . | . | . | 1½ | 2496 | |||||||
| 8. | Nogerbek, Kazybek | g | KAZ | 2514 | 0 | . | . | . | . | . | . | * | 1 | ½ | . | . | . | . | 1½ | 2521 | |||||||
| 9. | Vaishali, Rameshbabu | g | IND | 2476 | ½ | . | . | . | . | . | . | 0 | * | . | 1 | . | . | . | 1½ | 2463 | |||||||
| 10. | Yakubboev, Nodirbek | g | UZB | 2659 | . | 0 | . | . | . | . | . | ½ | . | * | . | 1 | . | . | 1½ | 2557 | |||||||
| 11. | Oro, Faustino | m | ARG | 2447 | . | . | . | . | . | . | 0 | . | 0 | . | * | . | . | 1 | 1 | 2383 | |||||||
| 12. | Divya, Deshmukh | m | IND | 2490 | . | ½ | . | 0 | . | . | . | . | . | 0 | . | * | . | . | ½ | 2377 | |||||||
| 13. | Pijpers, Arthur | m | NED | 2474 | . | 0 | . | ½ | 0 | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | * | . | ½ | 2365 | |||||||
| 14. | Bulmaga, Irina | m | ROU | 2386 | . | . | 0 | . | 0 | . | . | . | . | . | 0 | . | . | * | 0 | ||||||||
| Round 3 (January 20, 2025) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lu, Miaoyi | - Svane, Frederik | 1-0 | 28 | C01 | French Exchange | |
| Nguyen, Thai Dai Van | - Yakubboev, Nodirbek | 1-0 | 44 | E54 | Nimzo Indian | |
| L'Ami, Erwin | - Bok, Benjamin | 1-0 | 37 | D30 | Queen's Gambit (without Nc3) | |
| Suleymanli, Aydin | - Divya, Deshmukh | 1-0 | 31 | D00 | Queen's Pawn Game | |
| Gurel, Ediz | - Pijpers, Arthur | 1-0 | 47 | B76 | Sicilian Modern Dragon | |
| Nogerbek, Kazybek | - Vaishali, Rameshbabu | 1-0 | 45 | D43 | Anti-Meran Gambit | |
| Oro, Faustino | - Bulmaga, Irina | 1-0 | 49 | D35 | QGD Exchange | |
Tata Steel Chess Tournament Round 3 Commentary
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