Abdusattorov amid four-player chasing pack

Following a series of eventful rounds, the seventh day of action at the Superbet Chess Classic in Bucharest was comparatively quieter, with only one game ending decisively and three fairly uneventful draws – plus a more tense technical battle that also finished in a draw.

The lone winner of the day was Nodirbek Abdusattorov, who scored his first victory of the event and his only win in two editions of the tournament. Last year, the Uzbek GM collected eight draws and one loss to finish with 4/9. This time, he defeated Jan-Krzysztof Duda to join a four-player chasing pack standing a half point behind a quartet of co-leaders.

Despite the frequent fighting spirit on display in Bucharest, no player has managed to surpass a plus-two score. With two rounds remaining, eight out of ten participants retain realistic chances of taking the title. Leading the pack with 4/7 are Fabiano Caruana, Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu, Alireza Firouzja, and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, while Abdusattorov, Wesley So, Levon Aronian and Bogdan-Daniel Deac are just half a point behind. Bringing up the rear are Duda and world champion Gukesh Dommaraju, both with 2½/7 and effectively out of contention for overall victory.

Round 7 results

A Repertoire against the Italian Game

The repertoire against the Giuoco Pianissimo examined on this video course, provides Black with methods of evading this slightly one-sided pattern, yielding sound play in double-edged positions.

Co-leader Maxime Vachier-Lagrave taking a stroll during round seven | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Abdusattorov's triumph against Duda came out of a Colle System, a somewhat rare choice at the elite level. The Uzbek grandmaster opted for a quieter, positional battle rather than engaging in sharp tactical play. A couple of inaccuracies by Duda, including a notable positional error with 16...Na6, left Black in a vulnerable situation. Abdusattorov capitalised on his positional edge, displaying exceptional grasp of the strategic subtleties, and began to regroup his pieces for a kingside attack.

The conversion phase was marked by patience and precision, as Abdusattorov pressed forward with a methodical offensive, eventually forcing Duda's resignation after 49 moves (see analysis of the game below).

Jan-Krzysztof Duda | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Among the remaining draws, Pragg came closest to scoring a win. Facing fellow co-leader Firouzja, the Indian GM emerged from a Symmetrical English Opening with a positional edge, having secured the pair of bishops in a relatively open position with queens and rooks still on the board. However, the imprecise 23.Bc1 allowed Firouzja to equalise

There followed 23...Qxe2 24.Qxe2 Rxe2 25.Ra5 Nc3 26.Bxb7 Rb8 27.Bf3 Ra2 28.Rc5 Ne2+, forcing White to relinquish one of his bishops.

Master Class Vol. 18: Max Euwe

Experts examine the games of Max Euwe. Let them show you which openings Euwe chose to play, where his strength in middlegames were, which tactical abilities he had or how he outplayed his opponents in the endgame.
Max Euwe became the fifth World Chess Champion after beating Alexander Alekhine in the 1935 World Championship match. A maths teacher by profession, Euwe remained an amateur throughout his life, but was still the best chess player in the Netherlands, and one of the world's best players. Euwe holds the record for the most Dutch national championships, with twelve. After winning the World Championship, Euwe was also the world's best player for a while. He lost the title again in 1937 in the rematch against Alexander Alekhine.
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A more accurate continuation with 23.Rab1 would have preserved White's bishop pair, potentially allowing Pragg to keep his strategic edge.

The penultimate round, scheduled for Thursday, features another high-stakes encounter among co-leaders, as Caruana will have the white pieces against Vachier-Lagrave. Meanwhile, Pragg is set to play black against So, while Firouzja will take on Abdusattorov with white.

Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu facing Alireza Firouzja | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Abdusattorov 1-0 Duda

Abdusattorov, Nodirbek2773

1–0

Duda, Jan-Krzysztof2739

GCT Superbet Classic Romania 2025 Bucharest14.05.2025[CC]

1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.e3 e6 4.Bd3 Abdusattorov also employed this system during last year's Gashimov Memorial. He played it against Nepomniachtchi in the rapid section, and lost. c5 5.b3 cxd4 6.exd4 b6 Much more popular here is 6...Nc6 7.0-0 Bd6 8.Bb2 0-0 7.0-0 Be7 8.Qe2 0-0 9.Bb2 a5 10.a4 A novelty. Ba6 11.Bb5

A strong positional idea. If Black trades bishops, White will recapture with the pawn, gaining control of key squares on opposite camp. 11...Qc8 11...Bxb5 12.axb5 Nbd7 13.Nc3 Qc7 14.Na4 and White is for choice. 12.c4 Ra7 13.Nc3 Rc7 14.Ne5 By playing natural moves, White has achieved major positional trumps - more space and full development - all while hampering his opponent's active play. Bb7 15.Rad1 Rd8 16.Rd3 A great-looking rook lift. This rook will create attacking threats from g3 later on. Na6 It is understandable that Duda wanted to develop his minor piece, but even from b4, it lacks scope. Better is 16...Nbd7 17.Nxd7 Nxd7 18.cxd5 Nf8 19.dxe6 Nxe6 giving up a pawn but gaining coordination. Or 16...Nc6 17.Rfd1 keeping the tension. 17.Rfd1 Nb4 18.Rg3 dxc4 19.bxc4 Rd6 20.h4

Abdusattorov signals that he is getting ready to create an attack on the kingside. 20...Qf8 21.h5 h6 22.Bc1 Kh8 23.Bf4 Rc8 Black lacks active plans - but it is also difficult to suggest other moves. It all comes down to White's ability to successfully convert his positional edge into a win. 24.Re3 Returning with the rook to e3 is the engines' first suggestion. White prepares to play d4-d5, and having his major pieces doubled on the e-file is a great idea before the break. Na6 25.d5 Nc5 26.Re1 Rdd8 27.Bc6 Patiently improving his position once again! Ba6 28.Qf3 Kg8 29.Nb5 Bxb5 30.Bxb5 Bd6 31.Bxh6

There was no effective way for Black to prevent this capture. 31...Bxe5 Also hopeless is 31...Nxd5 32.cxd5 Bxe5 33.Rxe5 gxh6 and now comes 34.Bc4 with the light-squared bishop suddenly joining the attack. 32.Rxe5 gxh6 33.Qxf6 Besides being a pawn up, White has managed to weaken the black king's position. Rd6 34.R1e3 Yet another great rook lift! The rest was simple for Absuattorov. Rcd8 35.Rg3+ Kh7 36.Kh2 exd5 37.Qf5+ Kh8 38.cxd5 Nd7 39.Bd3 Nf6 40.Qf4 R8d7 41.Rf5 Nh7 42.Bb5 Ra7 43.Re3 Rd8 44.Rfe5 Qd6 45.Re8+

45...Kg7 46.Rg3+ Ng5 47.Qd4+ f6 48.Rxd8 Qxd8 49.f4 Remarkable! 1–0

Modern Classics

Top trainers strongly recommend regular study of well-explained classical games to improve your understanding of chess in the long term. 33 modern classics are explained in details on this video course.

A gleeful Nodirbek Abdusattorov being interviewed by Cristian Chirila after his fine victory | Photo: Lennart Ootes

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• Grand Chess Tour website
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