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Lennart Ootes / Tata Steel Chess

Tata Steel Chess 2025 Round 5: Abdusattorov and Praggnanandhaa in Joint Lead

ChessChess PersonalitiesOver the boardTournament
GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov won a brilliant game against GM Jorden van Foreest to join GM Praggnanandhaa R in first.

Tournament Information

The Tata Steel Chess tournament is one of the longest-running chess tournaments in history. It has attracted the world's top players for decades and is currently celebrating its 87th edition. The Masters section pits 14 players in a big single-player round robin, setting the stage for exhilarating chess battles as the clash of styles and ratings makes for quite the spectacle. The Challengers section is similarly structured, and Tata Steel Chess also includes a well-attended Amateurs section.

The Lichess broadcast coverage can be found here.

Schedule

RoundDate and Time
1January 18, 13:00 UTC
2January 19, 13:00 UTC
3January 20, 13:00 UTC
4January 21, 13:00 UTC
5January 22, 13:00 UTC
6January 24, 13:00 UTC
7January 25, 13:00 UTC
8January 26, 13:00 UTC
9January 28, 13:00 UTC
10January 29, 13:00 UTC
11January 31, 13:00 UTC
12February 1, 13:00 UTC
13February 2, 13:00 UTC

Leaderboard

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GM Jorden Van Foreest vs. GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov 0-1


Photo credit: Jurriaan Hoefsmit / Tata Steel Chess

Now tournament co-leader GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov has been playing with supreme confidence, and after looking at today’s game against GM Jorden van Foreest, one cannot help but say that this self-assurance is very much warranted. Abdusattorov decided to forego castling in what looked like a mishandling of the Caro-Kann position he had on the board. However, the position looked much worse than it truly was, and with Abdusattorov’s genius understanding of the position and engine-like precision, his king managed to find safety on the queenside. Van Foreest was clearly dismayed and was provoked into going for an admittedly very inspired piece sacrifice. From that point on, though, Abdusattorov played with extreme accuracy, calculating a deep line that saw his king walk around the board. As Van Foreest’s attack ran out, it was time for him to resign.

https://lichess.org/study/embed/Psn4GqSG/ytvUg4AZ#0

GM Gukesh D vs. GM Vincent Keymer 1-0


Photo credit: Jurriaan Hoefsmit / Tata Steel Chess

GM Gukesh D’s long squeezes were once again on full display in today’s round as he ground down his world championship second, GM Vincent Keymer, in a protracted endgame struggle. Gukesh’s greedy 30. Rxf4 is not favored by the engine, but supported with Gukesh’s phenomenal calculation skills, said move soon enough forced Keymer’s position to collapse.

https://lichess.org/study/embed/Psn4GqSG/YH0McfZR#0

GM Vladimir Fedoseev vs. GM Fabiano Caruana 1-0


Photo credit: Jurriaan Hoefsmit / Tata Steel Chess

GM Vladimir Fedoseev’s return to top chess has been nothing short of extraordinary. Outplaying the world number 2 in an equal endgame definitely cemented Fedoseev’s return to top form. Indeed, while Fedoseev did not get much of an advantage out of his chosen Ragozin Defense against GM Fabiano Caruana, his endgame mastery netted him the full point and saw him tie for second going into the rest day.

https://lichess.org/study/embed/Psn4GqSG/d4C0PYYg#0

GM Max Warmerdam vs. GM Praggnanandhaa R 1/2-1/2


Photo credit: Jurriaan Hoefsmit / Tata Steel Chess

From the Exchange French, which has been seeing a resurgence lately at the top level as a safe way for White to play for an advantage, GM Max Warmerdam kept the pressure on tournament leader GM Praggnanandhaa R. The presence of opposite-colored bishops meant that the attacking side would be favored, but Warmerdam was never able to play for much as Praggnanandhaa defended well. A draw after 40 moves was the logical result.

https://lichess.org/study/embed/Psn4GqSG/9HERV2yZ#0

GM Leon Luke Mendonca vs. GM Arjun Erigaisi 1/2-1/2


Photo credit: Jurriaan Hoefsmit / Tata Steel Chess

GM Arjun Erigaisi’s brand of aggressive chess knows no defeat. Despite struggling in this tournament, Arjun played a highly dynamic and vanishingly rare opening: the Bluemenfeld Countergambit. GM Leon Luke Mendonca was not too rattled, however, and it was actually Arjun who erred slightly on move 8. Mendonca played a beautiful positional game from then on, but as Arjun kept applying clock pressure, Mendonca was far behind on the clock and decided to settle for a draw.

https://lichess.org/study/embed/Psn4GqSG/3jQBxty0#0

GM Anish Giri vs. GM Alexey Sarana 1/2-1/2


Photo credit: Jurriaan Hoefsmit / Tata Steel Chess

GM Anish Giri came up with some very unique piece of preparation in the Italian Opening. By move 6, there were already less than 100 games played in our database, which is an absolutely surprising fact considering how long the Italian has been played historically. While the game was rich in ideas and Giri’s center looked at one point rather menacing, GM Alexey Sarana found all the right ideas and played brilliantly to neutralize Giri’s initiative.

https://lichess.org/study/embed/Psn4GqSG/Y9Gkrho5#0

GM Wei Yi vs. GM Pentala Harikrishna 1/2-1/2


Photo credit: Jurriaan Hoefsmit / Tata Steel Chess

The French Defense is nowadays an opening employed by top players to keep pieces on the board and get a complicated. GM Pentala Harikrishna came well-prepared for today's game and GM Wei Yi did not seem to get much out of the opening. In fact, Wei was slightly on the back foot as Harikrishna had the initiative. Wei found a way to vacuum off the pieces, though, and Harikrishna and Wei soon began repeating moves as it became clear that no side could play for more.

https://lichess.org/study/embed/Psn4GqSG/KYTD40Bw#0

Round 6 Pairings

Player (White)Player (Black)
GM Arjun ErigaisiGM Fabiano Caruana
GM Alexey SaranaGM Vladimir Fedoseev
GM Vincent KeymerGM Anish Giri
GM Nodirbek AbdusattorovGM Gukesh D
GM Pentala HarikrishnaGM Jorden Van Foreest
GM Praggnanandhaa RGM Wei Yi
GM Leon Luke MendoncaGM Max Warmerdam

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