TWIC is 30. First issue 17th September 1994.
87th Tata Steel 2025 (13)
Praggnanandhaa wins the Tata Steel Masters after hugely dramatic final round and then a tie-break match
Mark Crowther - Sunday 2nd February 2025
Gukesh and Praggnanandhaa during the first tie-break game. Photo © | https://tatasteelchess.com/en
Praggnanandhaa won the 87th Tata Steel Chess tournament for his most impressive result of his career so far. The path to victory was not at all smooth and he had to show great determination on the final day. Praggnanandhaa shared the lead with World Champion Gukesh and I don't think anyone predicted both players would go down to a defeat.
Gukesh was well beaten by a resurgent Arjun Erigaisi who said his confidence returned after beating Nodirbek Abdusattorov in Round 12. The game was a Petroff with opposite sides castling, Erigaisi always seemed at least equal, there was a weird exchange sacrifice which was supposed to be a bit better for Gukesh but after that it was all one way traffic and Erigaisi won in only 31 moves.
Abdusattorov could himself have got into a tie for first with a win today but was held by Pentala Harikrishna. Praggnanandhaa by this stage had troubles of his own as he was being tortured by Vincent Keymer. In the end Praggnanandhaa was given a chance to draw but he instead blundered a piece a few moves later and lost. The whole position was fiendishly difficult for both players and they had very little time too, mistakes were inevitable. This meant there was a tie for first between Praggnanandhaa and Gukesh and a blitz match for the title. Praggnanandhaa lost the first game but won the next two to secure the title. Very impressive considering the small recovery time between losing the classical game and the tie-breaks.
The only other winner in the Masters was Max Warmerdam who beat Fabiano Caruana who definitely had a tournament to forget. Fedoseev-Wei Yi, Giri-Van Foreest and Sarana-Mendonca were all drawn.
Panesar Vedant won the Tienkamp and qualifies for the Challengers next year and Thai Dai Van Nguyen beat Benjamin Bok in a must win game where he risked all in complications just before first time control and it paid off for him. This means Nguyen plays the Masters next year but spare a thought for Aydin Suleymanli who also scored 9.5/13 after beating Irina Bulmaga and only lost out on tie-break coefficients.
Tata Steel Masters Final Round 13 Standings: 1st Gukesh, D 8.5pts, 2nd Praggnanandhaa, R 8.5pts, 3rd Abdusattorov, Nodirbek 8pts, 4th Fedoseev, Vladimir 7.5pts, 5th Giri, Anish 7pts, 6th Wei, Yi 7pts, 7th Harikrishna, Pentala 6.5pts, 8th Caruana, Fabiano 6pts, 9th Keymer, Vincent 6pts, 10th Erigaisi, Arjun 5.5pts, 11th Van Foreest, Jorden 5.5pts, 12th Sarana, Alexey 5.5pts, 13th Mendonca, Leon Luke 5pts, 14th Warmerdam, Max 4.5pts.
Tata Steel Challengers Final Round 13 Standings: 1st Nguyen, Thai Dai Van 9.5pts, 2nd Suleymanli, Aydin 9.5pts, 3rd L'Ami, Erwin 8.5pts, 4th Yakubboev, Nodirbek 8pts, 5th Bok, Benjamin 8pts, 6th Gurel, Ediz 7.5pts, 7th Svane, Frederik 7.5pts, 8th Nogerbek, Kazybek 7.5pts, 9th Vaishali, Rameshbabu 6pts, 10th Lu, Miaoyi 5.5pts, 11th Pijpers, Arthur 5.5pts, 12th Oro, Faustino 3.5pts, 13th Divya, Deshmukh 3.5pts, 14th Bulmaga, Irina 1pt.
Tata Steel Tienkamp Final Round 9 Standings: 1st Panesar Vedant 6pts, 2nd Slagboom, Leandro 5.5pts, 2nd Grutter, Tim 5.5pts, 4th Smeets, Kobe 5pts, 4th Tudor, Henry Edward 5pts, 6th Sofronie, Iulian 4pts, 6th Lohia, Sohum 4pts, 8th Beukema, Stefan 3.5pts, 8th Holzke, Frank 3.5pts, 10th Zwirs, Nico 3pts.
Round 13 Summary
Gukesh vs Erigaisi Tata Steel 2025 Round 13 Photo © Michiel Abeln
Gukesh vs Erigaisi Tata Steel 2025 Round 13 Photo © Michiel Abeln
The first game to finish was Arjun Erigaisi's win against the World Champion Gukesh, he said his confidence had really returned after his win against Abdusattorov and today, he played sharply against Gukesh and won really rather easily in a game with castling on the opposite sides Erigaisi arrived first and after 16.Nexd5? (16.Ncxd5 is about equal) and then 18.Rd1? and finally 20.Bf4? he was winning and forced resignation on move 31.
Erigaisi interview
Keymer vs Praggnanandhaa Tata Steel 2025 Round 13 Photo © Michiel Abeln
The final game to finish was Vincent Keymer's win against Praggnanandhaa. Because Gukesh lost so quickly Praggnanandhaa was aware he only needed a draw but that was easier said than done. He got a horribly passive position where after 34...Qe7? he was bad if not lost mostly until the end of the game. There were bishop of opposite colours and Queens on the board and it proved surprisingly difficult for Keymer to finish off Praggnanandhaa and suddenly after 70.e5? the position was evaluated as equal by the engines. The position remained unpleasant and Praggnanandhaa blundered with 76...Be5? and this time there was no escape.
Vincent Keymer talks about this final round game.
Tata Steel 2025 Round 13 Photo © Michiel Abeln
Abdusattorov might have forced his way into a tie-break had he beaten Pentala Harikrishna today but there wasn't much chance of that and Harikrishna secured a 50% score, a very decent result for a last minute stand in.
Giri vs Van Foreest Tata Steel 2025 Round 13 Photo © Michiel Abeln
Anish Giri and Jorden Van Foreest was a Berlin Ruy Lopez that ended in a draw after 58 moves, Van Foreest had a small edge but couldn't do anything with it.
Fedoseev vs Wei Yi Tata Steel 2025 Round 13 Photo © Michiel Abeln
Vladimir Fedoseev against Wei Yi was a Catalan which remained balanced throughout.
Caruana vs Warmerdam Tata Steel 2025 Round 13 Photo © Michiel Abeln
Max Warmerdam won against Fabiano Caruana, his only two wins were against the two players rated over 2800. This was a Colle System where Caruana got a little something but started to drift. Caruana presumably felt he needed to win this game against the back marker and so he probably didn't knuckle down to defend in an attempt to keep winning chances. 17.Bd4? was the start of his troubles allowing Warmerdam to equalise. 35.Bd2? was bad and 37.Rxd5 was terrible and the losing move. 34.Rxd5 however could very well have saved the game for Caruana.
Sarana vs Mendonca Tata Steel 2025 Round 13 Photo © Michiel Abeln
Alexey Sarana got a bit of an edge against Leon Luke Mendonca but after his run of three losses he probably wasn't that upset to only draw.
Tie-breaks
Gukesh and Praggnanandhaa tie-break Tata Steel 2025 Round 13 Photo © Michiel Abeln
With Praggnanandhaa being the last player to finish it meant that he had very little time to recover before he went into the blitz tie-breaks. The games were not all that great, Gukesh dropped a pawn in game one but his activity combined with time on the clock led to a win, in game two Praggnanandhaa got a big advantage and took it into a winning endgame, in game three, the start of sudden death they eventually reached a drawn Knight and Pawn endgame where Gukesh suddenly dropped a pawn, then tried to give up a knight to eliminate the other pawns but he failed. And so it was Praggnanandhaa who won his first major tournament at the end of a completely crazy day for him. It will not be his first title. Gukesh also was really good value for money with his fighting chess practically every day.
Final Press Conference Tata Steel 2025 Photo © Michiel Abeln
The winner interviewed
Bok vs Nguyen Challengers Tata Steel 2025 Round 13 Photo © Michiel Abeln
Thai Dai Van Nguyen won the Challengers and qualified for the Masters next year. He just edged out Aydin Suleymanli on tie-break. He knew he had to win with the black pieces against Benjamin Bok, himself doing quite well. He won with black in a Nimzo Indian in 55 moves. The position was a bit drawish but Nguyen blitzed Bok in his time trouble giving up pawns for complications and when the smoke cleared after move 40 he was already probably winning. "Just one last game, lets give it all I have." Nguyen on his mindset for today.
Interview with Thai Dai Van Nguyen, the winner of the Challengers and who qualifies for the Masters next year
Interview with Panesar Vedant, the winner of the Tienkamp and qualifies for the Challengers next year
Challengers Tata Steel 2025 Round 13 Photo © Michiel Abeln
Aydin Suleymanli beat Irina Bulmaga took give himself a chance of reaching the Masters next year but he was overtaken by Nguyen.
Vaishali vs L'Ami Challengers Tata Steel 2025 Round 13 Photo © Michiel Abeln
Erwin L'Ami also knew he had to win today to have any chance of making it to the Masters and he ended up going down to defeat in 60 moves to Rameshbabu Vaishali.
Final Standings
| 87th Tata Steel Masters Wijk aan Zee NED Fri 17th Jan 2025 - Sun 2nd Feb 2025
Leading Final Round 13 Standings: |
||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rk | Name | Ti | FED | Rtg | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | Pts | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 |
| 1 | Gukesh, D | GM | IND | 2777 | * | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 8.5 | 0 | 53 | 1 |
| 2 | Praggnanandhaa, R | GM | IND | 2741 | ½ | * | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 8.5 | 0 | 52.75 | 2 |
| 3 | Abdusattorov, Nodirbek | GM | UZB | 2768 | ½ | ½ | * | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 49 | |
| 4 | Fedoseev, Vladimir | GM | SLO | 2717 | ½ | 0 | ½ | * | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7.5 | 0 | 46.5 | |
| 5 | Giri, Anish | GM | NED | 2731 | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | * | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 7 | 0 | 44.25 | |
| 6 | Wei, Yi | GM | CHN | 2751 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | * | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 7 | 0 | 44.25 | |
| 7 | Harikrishna, Pentala | GM | IND | 2695 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | * | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 6.5 | 0 | 37.75 | |
| 8 | Caruana, Fabiano | GM | USA | 2803 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | * | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 6 | 1 | 38 | |
| 9 | Keymer, Vincent | GM | GER | 2733 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | * | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 6 | 2 | 38.25 | |
| 10 | Erigaisi, Arjun | GM | IND | 2801 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | * | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 5.5 | 0 | 37.5 | |
| 11 | Van Foreest, Jorden | GM | NED | 2680 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | * | ½ | ½ | ½ | 5.5 | 0 | 35.75 | |
| 12 | Sarana, Alexey | GM | SRB | 2677 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | * | ½ | ½ | 5.5 | 0 | 35 | |
| 13 | Mendonca, Leon Luke | GM | IND | 2639 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | * | ½ | 5 | 0 | 31.25 | |
| 14 | Warmerdam, Max | GM | NED | 2646 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | * | 4.5 | 0 | 26.75 | |
| 14 players | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Round 13 (February 2, 2025) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gukesh, D | - Erigaisi, Arjun | 0-1 | 31 | C42 | Petroff's Defence | |
| Abdusattorov, Nodirbek | - Harikrishna, Pentala | ½-½ | 50 | C44 | Scotch Gambit | |
| Fedoseev, Vladimir | - Wei, Yi | ½-½ | 66 | E06 | Catalan | |
| Giri, Anish | - Van Foreest, Jorden | ½-½ | 60 | C67 | Ruy Lopez Berlin | |
| Keymer, Vincent | - Praggnanandhaa, R | 1-0 | 80 | B11 | Caro Kann Two Knights | |
| Caruana, Fabiano | - Warmerdam, Max | 0-1 | 63 | D04 | Queen's Pawn Game | |
| Sarana, Alexey | - Mendonca, Leon Luke | ½-½ | 47 | E49 | Nimzo Indian | |
| Tata Steel Masters TB Wijk aan Zee NED Sun 2nd Feb 2025 - Sun 2nd Feb 2025
|
||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rk | Name | Ti | FED | Rtg | 1 | 2 | 3 | Pts |
| 1 | Praggnanandhaa, R | GM | IND | 2741 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 2 | Gukesh, D | GM | IND | 2777 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2 players | ||||||||
| Tata Steel Challengers Wijk aan Zee NED Fri 17th Jan 2025 - Sun 2nd Feb 2025
Leading Final Round 13 Standings: |
|||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rk | Name | Ti | FED | Rtg | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | Pts | TB1 | TB2 |
| 1 | Nguyen, Thai Dai Van | GM | CZE | 2668 | * | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 9.5 | 0 | 55.75 |
| 2 | Suleymanli, Aydin | GM | AZE | 2623 | ½ | * | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9.5 | 0 | 55 |
| 3 | L'Ami, Erwin | GM | NED | 2614 | ½ | ½ | * | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8.5 | 0 | 49 |
| 4 | Yakubboev, Nodirbek | GM | UZB | 2659 | 0 | 1 | ½ | * | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 44.25 |
| 5 | Bok, Benjamin | GM | NED | 2583 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | * | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 43 |
| 6 | Gurel, Ediz | GM | TUR | 2624 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | * | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 7.5 | 0 | 43.25 |
| 7 | Svane, Frederik | GM | GER | 2664 | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | * | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7.5 | 0 | 43 |
| 8 | Nogerbek, Kazybek | GM | KAZ | 2514 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | * | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7.5 | 0 | 41.25 |
| 9 | Vaishali, Rameshbabu | GM | IND | 2476 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | * | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 6 | 0 | 35.5 |
| 10 | Lu, Miaoyi | IM | CHN | 2429 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | * | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | 5.5 | 0 | 33.25 |
| 11 | Pijpers, Arthur | IM | NED | 2474 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | * | ½ | ½ | 1 | 5.5 | 0 | 30.75 |
| 12 | Oro, Faustino | IM | ARG | 2447 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | * | 1 | 1 | 3.5 | 1 | 12.75 |
| 13 | Divya, Deshmukh | IM | IND | 2490 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | * | 1 | 3.5 | 2 | 19 |
| 14 | Bulmaga, Irina | IM | ROU | 2386 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | * | 1 | 0 | 5.75 |
| 14 players | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Round 13 (February 2, 2025) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bok, Benjamin | - Nguyen, Thai Dai Van | 0-1 | 55 | E36 | Nimzo Indian 4.Qc2 | |
| Svane, Frederik | - Gurel, Ediz | ½-½ | 58 | C42 | Petroff's Defence | |
| Nogerbek, Kazybek | - Oro, Faustino | 1-0 | 83 | A13 | Reti Opening | |
| Vaishali, Rameshbabu | - L'Ami, Erwin | 1-0 | 60 | B52 | Sicilian Rossolimo | |
| Lu, Miaoyi | - Yakubboev, Nodirbek | 0-1 | 32 | B90 | Sicilian Najdorf Variation | |
| Pijpers, Arthur | - Divya, Deshmukh | ½-½ | 23 | C11 | French Defence | |
| Bulmaga, Irina | - Suleymanli, Aydin | 0-1 | 38 | B49 | Sicilian Paulsen | |
| Tata Steel Top Tienkamp Wijk aan Zee NED Fri 17th Jan 2025 - Sun 2nd Feb 2025
Leading Final Round 9 Standings: |
|||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rk | Name | Rtg | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | Pts | TB1 | Perf |
| 1 | Panesar Vedant | 2446 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 6 | 26.5 | 2520 | |
| 2 | Slagboom, Leandro | 2369 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 5.5 | 22.75 | 2483 | |
| 2 | Grutter, Tim | 2380 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 5.5 | 22.25 | 2482 | |
| 4 | Smeets, Kobe | 2355 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 5 | 22 | 2448 | |
| 4 | Tudor, Henry Edward | 2375 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 5 | 20.75 | 2445 | |
| 6 | Sofronie, Iulian | 2380 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 4 | 17.75 | 2359 | |
| 6 | Lohia, Sohum | 2367 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 4 | 16.5 | 2360 | |
| 8 | Beukema, Stefan | 2423 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 3.5 | 16 | 2317 | |
| 8 | Holzke, Frank | 2426 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 3.5 | 15.5 | 2317 | |
| 10 | Zwirs, Nico | 2476 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | 3 | 13 | 2266 | |
| 10 players | |||||||||||||||
| Round 9 (February 2, 2025) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grutter , Tim | - Zwirs, Nico | ½-½ | 37 | B50 | Sicilian Defence | |
| Smeets, Kobe | - Slagboom, Leandro | 1-0 | 40 | C18 | French Winawer | |
| Tudor, Henry Edward | - Sofronie, Iulian | ½-½ | 53 | A67 | Benoni Three Pawns System | |
| Lohia, Sohum | - Beukema, Stefan | 1-0 | 59 | C79 | Ruy Lopez Russian Defence | |
| Holzke, Frank | - Panesar, Vedant | ½-½ | 47 | B72 | Sicilian Dragon | |
Tata Steel Chess Final Round Commentary
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