Gukesh or Praggnanandhaa - Who will win 87th Tata Steel Masters?
The 87th Tata Steel Masters 2025 is virtually guaranteed to have a winner between D Gukesh and R Praggnanandhaa. Yes, there is a mathematical possibility of Nodirbek Abdusattorov (UZB) catching up with both of them and a three-way Playoff, only if both leaders lose their last round game which is practically highly unlikely scenario. Praggnanandhaa squashed Alexey Sarana (SRB) in 29 moves in the penultimate round. Gukesh drew with Jorden van Foreest (NED) which could have gone either player's way. Arjun Erigaisi defeated Abdusattorov and virtually ended his championship hopes. Leon Luke Mendonca held World no.2, Fabiano Caruana (USA) to a solid draw. Round 13 starts today at 2 p.m. local time, 6:30 p.m. IST for both Masters and Challengers section. Photo: Lennart Ootes/Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2025
Arjun dashes Abdusattorov's hopes, Leon Luke Mendonca draws with World no.2 Fabiano Caruana
The Challengers event is also poised for an exciting finish. We might get to see a playoff in the Masters section. GM Thai Dai Van Nguyen (CZE) defeated IM Irina Bulmaga (ROU) to catch up with GM Erwin L'Ami (NED) who drew with GM Kazybek Nogerbek (KAZ). Meanwhile, GM Aydin Suleymanli (AZE) scored a hat-trick to join Thai Dai Van and Erwin in a three-way lead 8.5/12. Suleymanli defeated GM Frederik Svane (GER).
Praggnanandhaa - Sarana: 1-0
R Praggnanandhaa (2741) and Alexey Sarana (SRB, 2672) had played only two Classical rated games against each other until this game. They shared a win each. Praggnanandhaa has surpassed Sarana quite a lot since their last encounter at the 45th Olympiad which ended in a draw. The Olympiad Gold medalist was in a virtual must-win situation. He wanted to push for a win and got what he wanted out of the opening.
9.Bd3 after 8.Be2 is something that would get frowned upon if you follow the golden rules blindly/pre-computer era. However, Praggnanandhaa explained it in the post-game interview. He played 6.Qc2 first to prevent Bf5 7.Qf3 line which Sarana played against Arjun and drew the game. The reasoning behind 8.Be2 first before 9.Bd3 is to not allow Black to get h6 Bh4 Nh5 easily. Once Black develops the bishop, then Bd3 is fine as you no longer need to stop Nh5, h6-g5-Nh5 becomes less effective. That's modern chess for you.
Black's play is stopped after 13...g4 14.Nh4. If Black's castles on the queenside, White will attack on it, or a short castle will be met with an attack on the kingside.
The only way to prevent Nxa6 threat was to play 21...Ka8. Black missed and played 21...Nb5?? 22.Nxa6+! happened anyway bxa6 23.Rxc6 and White won the game in the next six moves.
Jorden - Gukesh: 0.5-0.5
D Gukesh (2777) has never lost a Classical rated game against Jorden van Foreest (NED, 2688). In their four battles, Gukesh won two and the remaining two ended in draws. This time also Gukesh had a good opportunity to win. However, he messed things up in time trouble.
Gukesh felt that he should have gone 22...Kf7 23.Kg3 Nhf6 but he was not sure how to proceed after 24.Kf2 Rae8 25.Qe2. What he actually played in the game 22...Bxh5 is what the computer recommends in the above position.
39.Qa6? allowed Rxe5!-+ which shifted things in Black's favor 40.fxe5 f4 41.Rh3 fxe3+ 42.Ke2 Rb1? and Black's advantage evaporated. He admitted missing 43.Qxc6 Rxb2+ 44.Kf3 Qf8+ 45.Ke4 Instead, 42...Rxh3 43.gxh3 Qxd4 would have maintained the upper hand for Black. Jorden missed an opportunity to push for a win after 45...Rf2 46.Qe6+ Rf7?? now White needed to play 47.Qg6 instead, he opted for 47.Rxe3 Qa8+ 48.d5 Qxa2 49.Qc8+ Rf8 50.Qe6+ Rf7 51.Qc8+ and the game ended in a draw via perpetual check.
Arjun - Abdusattorov: 1-0
The last time Arjun Erigaisi (2801) defeated Nodirbek Abdusattorov (UZB, 2766) in a Classical rated game over six years ago. However, Arjun won the most recent encounter at World Rapid in December last year.
Abdusattorov blundered 24...Qg5?? Arjun had no trouble seizing his opportunity 25.g4 f5 26.h4 Qg6 27.Bxf5 Qf7 28.Rd6 Nf6 29.g5 hxg5 30.hxg5 Nf5 31.Bg4 Qe7 32.Rxc6?! not the most precise finish. 32.Rg6 probably could have ended things much earlier.
Schedule
Starting from Saturday 18th January to 2nd February, all round starts at 2 p.m. local time, 6:30 p.m. IST. Rest days are same for both Masters and Challengers section - 23rd, 27th and 30th January 2025.
Replay Live stream
Replay Round 12 Masters games
Replay Round 12 Challengers games
Round 12 results
Masters
| Bo. | No. | Rtg | White | Result | Black | Rtg | No. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 14 | 2801 | GM | Erigaisi, Arjun | 1 - 0 | GM | Abdusattorov, Nodirbek | 2768 | 13 | |
| 2 | 1 | 2695 | GM | Harikrishna, Pentala | ½ - ½ | GM | Keymer, Vincent | 2733 | 12 | |
| 3 | 2 | 2741 | GM | Praggnanandhaa, R | 1 - 0 | GM | Sarana, Alexey | 2677 | 11 | |
| 4 | 3 | 2639 | GM | Mendonca, Leon Luke | ½ - ½ | GM | Caruana, Fabiano | 2803 | 10 | |
| 5 | 4 | 2646 | GM | Warmerdam, Max | 0 - 1 | GM | Fedoseev, Vladimir | 2717 | 9 | |
| 6 | 5 | 2751 | GM | Wei, Yi | ½ - ½ | GM | Giri, Anish | 2731 | 8 | |
| 7 | 6 | 2680 | GM | Van Foreest, Jorden | ½ - ½ | GM | Gukesh, D | 2777 | 7 |
Standings after Round 12
| Rk. | SNo | Name | FED | Rtg | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | GM | Praggnanandhaa, R | IND | 2741 | 8,5 | 0 | 48,50 |
| 2 | 7 | GM | Gukesh, D | IND | 2777 | 8,5 | 0 | 48,25 |
| 3 | 13 | GM | Abdusattorov, Nodirbek | UZB | 2768 | 7,5 | 0 | 42,00 |
| 4 | 9 | GM | Fedoseev, Vladimir | SLO | 2717 | 7 | 0 | 38,75 |
| 5 | 8 | GM | Giri, Anish | NED | 2731 | 6,5 | 0 | 38,00 |
| 6 | 5 | GM | Wei, Yi | CHN | 2751 | 6,5 | 0 | 37,00 |
| 7 | 10 | GM | Caruana, Fabiano | USA | 2803 | 6 | 0 | 34,50 |
| 8 | 1 | GM | Harikrishna, Pentala | IND | 2695 | 6 | 0 | 29,75 |
| 9 | 11 | GM | Sarana, Alexey | SRB | 2677 | 5 | 0 | 29,75 |
| 10 | 6 | GM | Van Foreest, Jorden | NED | 2680 | 5 | 0 | 29,50 |
| 11 | 12 | GM | Keymer, Vincent | GER | 2733 | 5 | 0 | 26,75 |
| 12 | 14 | GM | Erigaisi, Arjun | IND | 2801 | 4,5 | 0 | 26,75 |
| 13 | 3 | GM | Mendonca, Leon Luke | IND | 2639 | 4,5 | 0 | 26,00 |
| 14 | 4 | GM | Warmerdam, Max | NED | 2646 | 3,5 | 0 | 18,50 |
Round 13 pairings
| Bo. | No. | Rtg | White | Result | Black | Rtg | No. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | 2777 | GM | Gukesh, D | GM | Erigaisi, Arjun | 2801 | 14 | ||
| 2 | 8 | 2731 | GM | Giri, Anish | GM | Van Foreest, Jorden | 2680 | 6 | ||
| 3 | 9 | 2717 | GM | Fedoseev, Vladimir | GM | Wei, Yi | 2751 | 5 | ||
| 4 | 10 | 2803 | GM | Caruana, Fabiano | GM | Warmerdam, Max | 2646 | 4 | ||
| 5 | 11 | 2677 | GM | Sarana, Alexey | GM | Mendonca, Leon Luke | 2639 | 3 | ||
| 6 | 12 | 2733 | GM | Keymer, Vincent | GM | Praggnanandhaa, R | 2741 | 2 | ||
| 7 | 13 | 2768 | GM | Abdusattorov, Nodirbek | GM | Harikrishna, Pentala | 2695 | 1 |
Challengers
| Bo. | No. | Rtg | White | Result | Black | Rtg | No. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 14 | 2659 | GM | Yakubboev, Nodirbek | 1 - 0 | IM | Pijpers, Arthur | 2474 | 13 | |
| 2 | 1 | 2490 | IM | Divya, Deshmukh | 0 - 1 | GM | Bok, Benjamin | 2583 | 12 | |
| 3 | 2 | 2668 | GM | Nguyen, Thai Dai Van | 1 - 0 | IM | Bulmaga, Irina | 2386 | 11 | |
| 4 | 3 | 2623 | GM | Suleymanli, Aydin | 1 - 0 | GM | Svane, Frederik | 2664 | 10 | |
| 5 | 4 | 2624 | GM | Gurel, Ediz | 1 - 0 | GM | Vaishali, Rameshbabu | 2476 | 9 | |
| 6 | 5 | 2614 | GM | L'Ami, Erwin | ½ - ½ | GM | Nogerbek, Kazybek | 2514 | 8 | |
| 7 | 6 | 2447 | IM | Oro, Faustino | 1 - 0 | IM | Lu, Miaoyi | 2429 | 7 |
Standings after Round 12
| Rk. | SNo | Name | FED | Rtg | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | GM | Suleymanli, Aydin | AZE | 2623 | 8,5 | 0 | 49,75 |
| 2 | 5 | GM | L'Ami, Erwin | NED | 2614 | 8,5 | 0 | 45,75 |
| 3 | 2 | GM | Nguyen, Thai Dai Van | CZE | 2668 | 8,5 | 0 | 43,75 |
| 4 | 12 | GM | Bok, Benjamin | NED | 2583 | 8 | 0 | 39,50 |
| 5 | 4 | GM | Gurel, Ediz | TUR | 2624 | 7 | 1 | 36,00 |
| 6 | 10 | GM | Svane, Frederik | GER | 2664 | 7 | 2 | 36,00 |
| 7 | 14 | GM | Yakubboev, Nodirbek | UZB | 2659 | 7 | 2 | 36,00 |
| 8 | 8 | GM | Nogerbek, Kazybek | KAZ | 2514 | 6,5 | 0 | 34,50 |
| 9 | 7 | IM | Lu, Miaoyi | CHN | 2429 | 5,5 | 0 | 29,75 |
| 10 | 13 | IM | Pijpers, Arthur | NED | 2474 | 5 | 0 | 27,25 |
| 11 | 9 | GM | Vaishali, Rameshbabu | IND | 2476 | 5 | 0 | 25,25 |
| 12 | 6 | IM | Oro, Faustino | ARG | 2447 | 3,5 | 0 | 12,00 |
| 13 | 1 | IM | Divya, Deshmukh | IND | 2490 | 3 | 0 | 14,75 |
| 14 | 11 | IM | Bulmaga, Irina | ROU | 2386 | 1 | 0 | 5,25 |
Round 13 pairings
| Bo. | No. | Rtg | White | Result | Black | Rtg | No. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | 2429 | IM | Lu, Miaoyi | GM | Yakubboev, Nodirbek | 2659 | 14 | ||
| 2 | 8 | 2514 | GM | Nogerbek, Kazybek | IM | Oro, Faustino | 2447 | 6 | ||
| 3 | 9 | 2476 | GM | Vaishali, Rameshbabu | GM | L'Ami, Erwin | 2614 | 5 | ||
| 4 | 10 | 2664 | GM | Svane, Frederik | GM | Gurel, Ediz | 2624 | 4 | ||
| 5 | 11 | 2386 | IM | Bulmaga, Irina | GM | Suleymanli, Aydin | 2623 | 3 | ||
| 6 | 12 | 2583 | GM | Bok, Benjamin | GM | Nguyen, Thai Dai Van | 2668 | 2 | ||
| 7 | 13 | 2474 | IM | Pijpers, Arthur | IM | Divya, Deshmukh | 2490 | 1 |
Time Control
100 minutes for 40 moves, followed by 50 minutes for the remaining moves with 30 seconds increment for each move starting from the first move.
