Wei Yi and Caruana keep themselves in contention after wins in Round 8 of the Tata Steel Masters

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87th Tata Steel 2025 (8)

Wei Yi and Caruana keep themselves in contention after wins in Round 8 of the Tata Steel Masters

Mark Crowther - Sunday 26th January 2025

Fabiano Caruana scored a much needed win against Vincent Keymer. Photo ©

Fabiano Caruana scored a much needed win against Vincent Keymer. Photo © | https://tatasteelchess.com/en

The Tata Steel Masters enters a second rest day on Monday with a three way tie between Gukesh, Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Praggnanandhaa on 5.5/8, half a point clear of Vladimir Fedoseev on 5 points and in turn half a point clear of Alexey Sarana, Wei Yi and Fabiano Caruana on 4.5/8. The winner of this year's Masters will surely be one of these players.

Today the leaders Praggnanandhaa and Gukesh drew a Berlin Ruy Lopez in 33 moves. A game not without interest but also not that thrilling either. Fabiano Caruana beat Vincent Keymer on the black side of an Exchange Queen's Gambit. Caruana had a chance after 27.Bc1? but played 27...Qe7 instead of 27...Nd6! Caruana had to wait for another mistake 36.Rf4? before he was winning. Keymer has been a big fighter in the tournament but has made far too many serious errors. The other leader Abdusattorov and fourth placed Fedoseev drew a Petroff that seemed to be deeply prepared by both.

Max Warmerdam got a perfectly acceptable position against Wei Yi in a Scotch but the position gradually became harder for him to play and after 50.Nc4? (50.Be5 getting his bishop out of the way was needed) 50...e5! it suddenly became clear Wei Yi was winning material and the game.

The remaining games were drawn, these were: Harikrishna against Giri (who now has the cold that's been going round), Arjun Erigaisi against Alexei Sarana (a Queen's Gambit where Erigaisi took a quick draw), Mendonca against Van Foreest (Mendonca would had a much better position after 14.h3 but miscalculated and played the bad 14.d5? after which they reached a very complicated and difficult to evaluate endgame which finished in a draw).

In the Challengers Thai Dai Van Nguyen beat Miaoyi Lu to take sole lead with 6/8 half a point clear of Erwin L'Ami.

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

Masters Standings Round 8: 1st= Gukesh, Abdusattorov, Praggnanandhaa 5.5pts, 4th Fedoseev 5pts, 5th= Sarana, Wei Yi, Caruana 4.5pts, 8th Harikrishna 4pts, 9th Giri 3.5pts, 10th= Keymer, Van Foreest, Warmerdam 3pts, 13th Mendonca 2.5pts, 14th Erigaisi 2pts.

Rest day Monday 27th January

Round 9 Jan 28 at 13.00 GMT Wei vs Erigaisi, Van Foreest vs Warmerdam, Gukesh vs Mendonca, Giri vs Praggnanandhaa, Fedoseev vs Harikrishna, Caruana vs Abdusattorov, Sarana vs Keymer.

Challengers Standings Round 8: 1st Nguyen 6pts, 2nd L'Ami 5.5pts, 3rd= Bok, Suleymanli, Nogerbek 5pts, 6th= Lu, Vaishali, Svane 4.5pts, 9th= Gurel, Yakubboev 4pts, 11th Pijpers 3pts, 12th Faustino Oro 2.5pts, 13th Divya 1.5pts, 14th Bulmaga 1pt.

Round 9 Jan 28 at 13.00 GMT L'Ami vs Yakubboev, Oro vs Gurel, Lu vs Suleymanli, Nogerbek vs Nguyen, Vaishali vs Divya, Svane vs Pijpers, Bulmaga vs Bok.

Tienkamp Standings Round 3: 1st Grutter 2.5pts, 2nd= Kobe Smeets, Panesar 2pts, 4th= Lohia, Holzke, Sofronie, Zwirs 1.5pts, 8th= Slagboom, Tudor 1pt, 10th Beukema 0.5pts.

There is no rest day on Monday for the Tienkamp.

Round 8 Summary

Erigaisi vs Sarana Tata Steel 2025 Round 8 Photo © Michiel Abeln.

Erigaisi vs Sarana Tata Steel 2025 Round 8 Photo © Michiel Abeln

Alexey Sarana played a solid variation of the Queen's Gambit against Arjun Erigaisi. He chose a line where black allows a smashed pawn structure in return for getting the Queen's off and the two bishops. I personally don't understand why anyone would play this for black, there are so many decent lines these days, I call it the endless suffering variation, but if you really know what you're doing as black it's still in good theoretical shape. Finally Erigaisi just didn't try today, which I think is wise. He needs to stop the bleeding and get out of the tournament without any more losses.

Keymer vs Caruana Tata Steel 2025 Round 8 Photo © Michiel Abeln.

Keymer vs Caruana Tata Steel 2025 Round 8 Photo © Michiel Abeln

Fabiano Caruana won the final game to finish when he defeated Vincent Keymer from the black side of a Queen's Gambit Exchange variation. The position turned sharp and 22.Nce2?! (22.Rc1) allowed black to at least equalise. Keymer made a serious error with 27.Bc1? (27.Ne6 was strictly necessary and would have been about equal) but Caruana failed to punish this when he played 27...Qe7? rather than 27...Nd6! winning material. In the next phase of the game Keymer was a pawn up but it was the two bishops that gave Caruana a small edge. Keymer blundered with 36.Rf4? (he needed to find 36.Rf2) which was losing as his pieces were uncoordinated.

Abdusattorov vs Fedoseev Tata Steel 2025 Round 8 Photo © Michiel Abeln.

Abdusattorov vs Fedoseev Tata Steel 2025 Round 8 Photo © Michiel Abeln

Nodirbek Abdusattorov against Vladimir Fedoseev was a Petroff Defence where both side's preparation went very deep. The game didn't really depart from equality.

Harikrishna vs Giri Tata Steel 2025 Round 8 Photo © Michiel Abeln.

Harikrishna vs Giri Tata Steel 2025 Round 8 Photo © Michiel Abeln

Pentala Harikrishna didn't manage to put much pressure on Anish Giri on the white side of a Ruy Lopez Classical with Bc5. Giri might have stood a little better but very quickly they traded into a completely drawn endgame. Giri has picked up the cold that's going around.

Praggnanandhaa vs Gukesh Tata Steel 2025 Round 8 Photo © Michiel Abeln.

Praggnanandhaa vs Gukesh Tata Steel 2025 Round 8 Photo © Michiel Abeln

Praggnanandhaa against Gukesh was a Berlin Ruy Lopez drawn in 33 moves. 13.d4 allowed Gukesh to damage white's pawn structure. 23...Rd8 might well have been better than 23...a3= played in the game. A level endgame resulted and they soon agreed a draw.

Praggnanandhaa on this draw.

Mendonca vs Van Foreest Tata Steel 2025 Round 8 Photo © Michiel Abeln.

Leon Luke Mendonca had the advantage against Jorden Van Foreest in a Gruenfeld at various stages, 14.h3 would have been strong and also in the moves following 25...Bf5?! +1 (25...Bd5) but didn't make the most of it and agreed a draw on move 28 when he was short of time.

Mendonca interview on the game. He also explained that early in the event, after the first game, he got the sickness that's been going round the event and only now he's fine and playing better and hoping to play some decent games towards the finish, starting with Gukesh after the rest day.

Wei Yi won last year's event with a late run of wins, this win was certainly timely. Today he beat Max Warmerdam on the black side of a Scotch. The game was balanced for a long time, even after Warmerdam gave up the exchange for Bishop and Pawn, Wei Yi thought Warmerdam's 24...Bxe6 was a good idea and that white was equal. Maybe 49.Bd4?! made life harder, but it was Warmerdam's 50.Nc4? that was the decisive error. Warmerdam's pieces were tangled up and 50...e5! won material led to a win for Wei Yi.

Wei Yi demonstrates his win.

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	½	.	½	1	1	.	.	1	.	.	5½	2874
2.	Abdusattorov, Nodirbek	g	UZB	2768	½	*	½	½	.	½	.	.	½	1	1	.	1	.	5½	2851
3.	Praggnanandhaa, R	g	IND	2741	½	½	*	.	.	½	.	1	.	½	½	.	1	1	5½	2860
4.	Fedoseev, Vladimir	g	SLO	2717	½	½	.	*	0	.	1	.	½	½	.	1	.	1	5	2841
5.	Sarana, Alexey	g	SRB	2677	½	.	.	1	*	½	½	.	½	½	½	.	.	½	4½	2781
6.	Wei, Yi	g	CHN	2751	.	½	½	.	½	*	½	½	.	.	1	½	½	.	4½	2755
7.	Caruana, Fabiano	g	USA	2803	½	.	.	0	½	½	*	.	½	1	.	1	.	½	4½	2776
8.	Harikrishna, Pentala	g	IND	2695	0	.	0	.	.	½	.	*	½	½	1	.	½	1	4	2720
9.	Giri, Anish	g	NED	2731	0	½	.	½	½	.	½	½	*	.	.	½	.	½	3½	2703
10.	Van Foreest, Jorden	g	NED	2680	.	0	½	½	½	.	0	½	.	*	.	½	½	.	3	2634
11.	Warmerdam, Max	g	NED	2646	.	0	½	.	½	0	.	0	.	.	*	½	½	1	3	2638
12.	Keymer, Vincent	g	GER	2733	0	.	.	0	.	½	0	.	½	½	½	*	1	.	3	2631
13.	Mendonca, Leon Luke	g	IND	2639	.	0	0	.	.	½	.	½	.	½	½	0	*	½	2½	2585
14.	Erigaisi, Arjun	g	IND	2801	.	.	0	0	½	.	½	0	½	.	0	.	½	*	2	2513

Round 8 (January 26, 2025)
Abdusattorov, Nodirbek	- Fedoseev, Vladimir	½-½	76	C42	Petroff's Defence
Praggnanandhaa, R	- Gukesh, D	½-½	33	C65	Ruy Lopez Berlin
Harikrishna, Pentala	- Giri, Anish	½-½	30	C78	Ruy Lopez Moeller Defence
Warmerdam, Max	- Wei, Yi	0-1	63	C45	Scotch Game
Keymer, Vincent	- Caruana, Fabiano	0-1	60	D35	QGD Exchange
Mendonca, Leon Luke	- Van Foreest, Jorden	½-½	30	D85	Gruenfeld Defence
Erigaisi, Arjun	- Sarana, Alexey	½-½	23	D35	QGD 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.	Nguyen, Thai Dai Van	g	CZE	2668	*	½	.	½	.	.	.	1	½	1	1	1	½	.	6	2738
2.	L'Ami, Erwin	g	NED	2614	½	*	1	½	.	½	.	.	½	.	½	.	1	1	5½	2705
3.	Bok, Benjamin	g	NED	2583	.	0	*	½	½	½	½	1	1	.	.	1	.	.	5	2643
4.	Suleymanli, Aydin	g	AZE	2623	½	½	½	*	.	.	.	.	1	0	½	1	1	.	5	2664
5.	Nogerbek, Kazybek	g	KAZ	2514	.	.	½	.	*	½	1	0	.	½	½	.	1	1	5	2615
6.	Svane, Frederik	g	GER	2664	.	½	½	.	½	*	½	0	.	½	.	1	.	1	4½	2556
7.	Vaishali, Rameshbabu	g	IND	2476	.	.	½	.	0	½	*	½	.	1	½	1	.	½	4½	2562
8.	Lu, Miaoyi	m	CHN	2429	0	.	0	.	1	1	½	*	.	.	½	.	1	½	4½	2574
9.	Gurel, Ediz	g	TUR	2624	½	½	0	0	.	.	.	.	*	1	1	.	0	1	4	2562
10.	Yakubboev, Nodirbek	g	UZB	2659	0	.	.	1	½	½	0	.	0	*	.	.	1	1	4	2555
11.	Pijpers, Arthur	m	NED	2474	0	½	.	½	½	.	½	½	0	.	*	½	.	.	3	2462
12.	Oro, Faustino	m	ARG	2447	0	.	0	0	.	0	0	.	.	.	½	*	1	1	2½	2404
13.	Divya, Deshmukh	m	IND	2490	½	0	.	0	0	.	.	0	1	0	.	0	*	.	1½	2321
14.	Bulmaga, Irina	m	ROU	2386	.	0	.	.	0	0	½	½	0	0	.	0	.	*	1	2231

Round 8 (January 26, 2025)
Nguyen, Thai Dai Van	- Lu, Miaoyi	1-0	60	D73	Gruenfeld 3.g3
Bok, Benjamin	- Svane, Frederik	½-½	30	E32	Nimzo Indian 4.Qc2
Suleymanli, Aydin	- Oro, Faustino	1-0	59	A45	Trompowsky
Gurel, Ediz	- L'Ami, Erwin	½-½	35	C65	Ruy Lopez Berlin
Yakubboev, Nodirbek	- Bulmaga, Irina	1-0	37	A48	King's Indian Defence /c2-c4
Pijpers, Arthur	- Vaishali, Rameshbabu	½-½	40	C60	Ruy Lopez
Divya, Deshmukh	- Nogerbek, Kazybek	0-1	66	A22	English Opening

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.	Grutter, Tim	f	NED	2380	*	½	.	.	.	1	.	.	1	.	2½	2643
2.	Smeets, Kobe	f	NED	2355	½	*	.	.	½	.	.	.	1	.	2	2518
3.	Panesar, Vedant	f	IND	2446	.	.	*	½	.	.	.	½	.	1	2	2511
4.	Lohia, Sohum	f	ENG	2367	.	.	½	*	.	0	1	.	.	.	1½	2434
5.	Holzke, Frank	g	GER	2426	.	½	.	.	*	½	½	.	.	.	1½	2403
6.	Sofronie, Iulian	m	ROU	2380	0	.	.	1	½	*	.	.	.	.	1½	2391
7.	Zwirs, Nico	m	NED	2476	.	.	.	0	½	.	*	.	.	1	1½	2405
8.	Slagboom, Leandro	f	NED	2369	.	.	½	.	.	.	.	*	0	½	1	2289
9.	Tudor, Henry Edward	f	ROU	2375	0	0	.	.	.	.	.	1	*	.	1	2243
10.	Beukema, Stefan	m	BEL	2423	.	.	0	.	.	.	0	½	.	*	½	2157

Round 3 (January 26, 2025)
Smeets, Kobe	- Holzke, Frank	½-½	79	C65	Ruy Lopez Berlin
Panesar, Vedant	- Slagboom, Leandro	½-½	32	C02	French Advance
Sofronie, Iulian	- Lohia, Sohum	1-0	66	D00	Queen's Pawn Game
Zwirs, Nico	- Beukema, Stefan	1-0	35	B14	Caro Kann Panov
Tudor, Henry Edward	- Grutter, Tim	0-1	54	A45	Trompowsky