Tata Steel Chess R7: Abdusattorov extends his lead

Pragg and So join the chasing pack

Out of the 14 games played on Saturday in the Masters and Challengers combined, 10 finished decisively, the highest number so far in this year’s edition of the Tata Steel Chess festival.

Once all was said and done at the Dorpshuis de Moriaan Hall in Wijk aan Zee, both tournaments have sole leaders, with Nodirbek Abdusattorov extending his lead in the Masters and Alexander Donchenko scoring a second consecutive win to go into round 8 alone atop the standings of the Challengers. But there is still about a week to go in the events, as the final round is scheduled for next Sunday, with two more rest days in the interim.

Following the lively seventh round, Abdusattorov is a full point ahead of his closest chasers. The 18-year-old remains undefeated and has so far collected four wins in the Masters — his fourth being a fine win with black over Arjun Erigaisi. A performance this strong against such a tough field has naturally yielded the youngster a considerable rating gain, as he is now the clear number two in the hyper-competitive juniors’ ratings list.

Standing sixth in that list is now Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu, who is 1.2 points away from crossing the 2700 barrier after beating Jorden van Foreest in round 7. The Indian prodigy is one of four players sharing second place on 4½/7 points. Similarly to Pragg, Wesley So joined the chasing pack with a win on Saturday, as he grabbed a second consecutive full point in his game with black against an out-of-form Dommaraju Gukesh.

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Two big guns complete the plus-two group (all undefeated with two wins to their names): Anish Giri and Fabiano Caruana. Both super-GMs grabbed half points, but their games could not have been more dissimilar — while Giri drew his game with Levon Aronian after only 21 moves, Caruana worked for over seven hours in his encounter against Parham Maghsoodloo. Nearing the end of the marathon, Caruana got winning chances in a tough queen endgame, but only after surviving an inferior position for hours on end. In fact, it was the Iranian’s eagerness to win which led to his needing to defend well into the night.

In other news, Vincent Keymer missed some chances to beat Ding Liren (draw in 58 moves), and Magnus Carlsen returned to a fifty-percent score by taking down Richard Rapport with the white pieces. Carlsen will face a (likely) exhausted Caruana in Sunday’s eighth round.

The traditional exhibition boards are being used in the live commentary room | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2023

Arjun 0 - 1 Abdusattorov

 

Erigaisi Arjun2722

0–1

Abdusattorov, Nodirbek2713

85th Tata Steel Masters 2023 Wijk aan Zee21.01.2023[Besenthal,Klaus-Günther]

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.d4 Nxe4 4.dxe5 d5 5.Nbd2 Nxd2 6.Bxd2 Be7 7.Bd3 c5 8.c3 Nc6 9.0-0 Bg4 10.Re1 0-0 11.h3 Bh5 12.Bf5 Kh8 13.Qe2 Qb6 14.Bf4 Rae8 15.Rad1 d4 16.g4 Bg6 17.Qc2 Rd8 18.h4 Qa6 19.cxd4 cxd4 20.Qb3 d3

This position was roughly balanced, especially since no really promising active plans could be found for either side. 21.h5?! Unless this pawn push can be considered as promising! A solid alternative was 21.Re3 Nd4 22.Nxd4 Rxd4 23.Bg3 d2 Or 23...Rfd8 24.Rd2 Bc5 25.Kh2 R4d5 26.Rf3 The black pawn cannot advance - the game could well end in a draw at this point. 24.e6 fxe6 25.Bxg6 hxg6 26.Rxe6 Bd6 27.h5! gxh5 28.Bxd6 Rxd6 29.Qb4 Rxe6 30.Qxf8+ Kh7 31.Qf5+= This check would not have been possible without the inclusion of 27.h5. 21...Bxf5 22.gxf5 Nd4 23.Nxd4 Rxd4 24.Bg3 d2! This move not only gains a tempo, as there is no white pawn on h4 any more - small but subtle differences to the aforementioned variation! One has the feeling with Abdusattorov that he knows how to anticipate such things, unlike the opponents he has beaten. 25.Re3 Qh6

26.Qxb7? This capture is not at all playable. 26.Rd3 Rxd3 27.Qxd3 Rd8 28.Qf3 would have resulted in a defensible position for White. 26...Bg5 27.Rc3 Qxh5 28.Qf3 Qh3 Exchanging queens was also good for Black: 28...Qxf3 29.Rxf3 Re4 30.Kf1 Rc8 31.Rc3 Rxc3 32.bxc3 h5 29.Bh2 Rg4+ 30.Bg3 h6?! Probably unnecessary, but understandably he wants to keep everything under control, so he gives his king an escape square. 30...Rd8! 31.Qg2? Better was 31.Qh1! Rxg3+ 32.Rxg3 Qxf5 33.Qh5 Qxe5 34.Rxg5 Qxg5+ 35.Qxg5 hxg5 36.Rxd2 with chances of salvation. 31...Qh5 32.f3 Rd4 33.Qh2 Bh4! The black queen remains on the board, unlike in the previous variation, which is not good for White, whose king is under attack. 34.Kf1 Rfd8 35.Bf2 Re4! 36.f6 gxf6 37.Qh3 Rf4 38.Bxa7 Qxe5 39.Be3 Qb5+ 40.Kg1 Qe2 41.Qf1 Rg8+ 42.Kh1 Qxf1+ 43.Rxf1 Rxf3 0–1

Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Arjun Erigaisi | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2023 

Praggnanandhaa 1 - 0 Van Foreest

 

Praggnanandhaa R2684

1–0

Van Foreest, Jorden2681

85th Tata Steel Masters 2023 Wijk aan Zee21.01.2023[Besenthal,Klaus-Günther]

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 Bf5 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bd2 e6 7.Qb3 b5 8.c5 Nbd7 9.a4 e5 10.Qa3 b4 11.Qxb4 Rb8 12.Qa3 a5 13.Be2 Be7 14.0-0 0-0 15.Rfd1

15...e4?! This move, which actually appears to be good optically, is not particularly good here (and in comparable positions, e.g. in the London System for White), since it blocks the diagonal of the f5-bishop. Also, an attack still seems to be a long way off, as the f-pawn is blocked and the queen cannot find a way to infiltrate for the time being. Good was, for example: 15...Rb7 followed by Qb8. 16.Ne1 Bg4 17.Rdb1 Qc7 18.h3 Bxe2 19.Nxe2 Qa7 20.b4 Black's plan to attack on the queenside with the heavy pieces didn't work either: White takes the initiative here. axb4 21.Rxb4 Qa6 22.Rxb8 Rxb8 23.Nc1 Ne8 24.Nc2 Nc7 25.a5 Ra8 26.Rb1 Qc4 27.Qb3 Qxb3 28.Rxb3 Bd8 29.Be1 Kf8 30.Rb7 Ke8 31.Nb4 Nb8 32.f3 exf3 33.gxf3 Kd7 34.Nc2 Kc8 35.Rb1 Ne6 36.Kg2 f5 37.Nd3 Bc7 38.h4 Ra7 39.Ra1 Nd8 40.Nc1 h6 41.f4 h5 42.Kf3 Na6 43.Nd3 Rb7 44.Bd2 Ne6 45.Ke2 Bd8 46.Ne5 Kc7

47.Nb4! Nb8 47...Nxb4 48.a6 Nxa6 49.Rxa6 Kc8 50.Rxc6+ Nc7 51.Ba5 Bxh4 52.Bb6 gives White a clearly winning position. 48.Nf7 Be7 49.Rg1 Nd7 50.Ne5 Nxe5 51.fxe5 Kd7 52.Rg6 Rc7 53.Be1 f4 54.a6 Rc8 55.a7 fxe3 56.Kxe3 Nd8 56...Ra8 57.Nxc6 57.Na6 Ra8 58.Ba5 Rxa7 59.Nb8+ Ke8 60.Bxd8 Bxd8 61.Nxc6 Ra3+ 62.Kf4 Bxh4 63.Rxg7 Ra6 64.Rc7 1–0

Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2023

Gukesh 0 - 1 So

 

Gukesh D2725

0–1

So, Wesley2760

85th Tata Steel Masters 2023 Wijk aan Zee21.01.2023[Besenthal,Klaus-Günther]

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.c3 0-0 6.0-0 d5 7.exd5 Qxd5 8.Bc4 Qd8 9.b4 Bd6 10.Nbd2 h6 11.Re1 Re8 12.a4 a6 13.Qc2 Be6 14.Bb2 Qd7 15.Re2 Bf5 16.Rae1 Re7 17.h3 Rae8 18.Ne4 Nh5 19.Bc1 Kh8 20.Nh4 Be6 21.Qd1 Qd8

Black is in trouble: the h5-knight is in danger, the pieces on the centre lines can hardly move and White has dangerous mobile pawns on the b and d-files. 22.b5?! But this is not the best continuation. With 22.g3!+- White first covers his knight on h4 and controls the f4-square. All the while, the motives mentioned above are still present. 22...Na5 23.Bxe6 Rxe6 24.Nf5 Bf8 Black is out of the woods. 25.Qc2 axb5 26.axb5 b6 27.d4 Nf4 28.Rd2? A strange-looking move. Top grandmasters often take such exposed knights off the board: 28.Bxf4!= 28...Qd5! 29.Ne3 Qxb5 30.d5 Rg6 31.Ng3 Bc5 32.Qe4?

After this move White is completely lost. 32.Nef5 would have put up some resistance. 32...Bxe3 33.fxe3 Nc4 34.Rf2 Nd6 This will be followed by Nd3 with further material gains. 0–1

Wesley So | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2023

Standings after round 7 - Masters

All games - Masters

Challengers: Donchenko leads as 6 out of 7 games end decisively

Only the last game to finish in the Challengers section saw the contenders, Max Warmerdam and Velimir Ivic, splitting a point. Out of the six remaining games, five favoured the player marshalling the white pieces, including the crucial matchup between Alexander Donchenko and Mustafa Yilmaz, who entered the round sharing the lead with 4½ points each.

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Second seed Javokhir Sindarov also won with white, and now stands in sole second place a half point behind his German colleague. Sindarov already faced Donchenko in this tournament — he drew the current leader with black in their first-round confrontation.

Still with more than realistic chances of winning the lengthy event are Thomas Beerdsen, Ivic and Yilmaz, all standing on 4½ points. Out of the three, only Beerdsen won on Saturday, as he got the better of Abhimanyu Mishra from the white side of a Sicilian Najdorf.

Javokhir Sindarov defeated fan favourite Eline Roebers | Photo: Jurriaan Hoefsmit / Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2023

Donchenko 1 - 0 Yilmaz

 

Donchenko, Alexander2627

1–0

Yilmaz, Mustafa2609

85th Tata Steel Challengers 2023 Wijk aan Zee21.01.2023[Besenthal,Klaus-Günther]

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.Qa4+ Nc6 6.e3 0-0 7.Qc2 b6 8.Bd2 Bb7 9.cxd5 exd5 10.a3 Bd6 11.Nb5 Be7 12.Bd3 a6 13.Nc3 Bd6 14.0-0 Ne7 15.b4 Ng6 16.b5 Re8 17.Rfc1 a5 18.Ne2 Ne4 19.Be1 h5 20.Ng3 Nxg3 21.hxg3 Qf6 22.Bc3 Rad8 23.a4 Bc8 24.Bb2 Bg4 25.Nh2

In this position Black obviously had to deal with the threat of Ba3. After the exchange of the dark-squared bishops, White would threaten to advance on the c-file in one way or another. Black finds a defensive strategy, but the version he chooses is only second-best. 25...Be6?! Black wants to take back on d6 with the pawn. Then he can oppose White's heavy pieces on c8 with his rooks, since he is strong on that square. Besides, the e6-bishop also protects d5. However, better was 25...Ne7! The move, like Be6, strengthens c8 and d5, but also protects the threatened square c6. Furthermore, Black can now counter the white battery on the diagonal towards h7 with Bf5. 26.Ba3 Rc8 27.Bxd6 cxd6 28.Qd2 Bf5 29.Rxc8 Rxc8 30.Be2 g6 31.Rc1 Qe6 Black is passive, but otherwise stands totally secure. 26.Ba3 Rc8 27.Qd1 h4 28.Bxd6 cxd6 29.g4 Ne7 30.Rxc8 Rxc8 31.Rc1 Now e6 is not accessible for the black queen. White has the advantage. g5 32.Rxc8+ Nxc8 33.Qc2 Kf8 34.f4

After this move, you only believe your eyes while taking a second glance. Also very good was 34.Bf5 34...Qe7 34...gxf4 35.Qf2+- was very promising for White. No matter what happens now, even if the queens are exchanged, Black is left with bad minor pieces, his h4-pawn is weak and the white majority on the kingside is very mobile. 35.Kf2 Qf6? A losing move. 35...Qd8 would have protected c7 in any case. 36.f5! Even if this pawn is pinned Black must move the bishop away if only to make his queen mobile again Bd7 37.Qc7 Qe7 38.Qb7 f6 39.Bc2 Ke8 40.Nf3 Kd8 41.Qxd5 Be8 42.Bb3 Qd7 43.e4 Ne7 44.Qa8+ Qc8 45.Qa7 Qc7 46.Qxc7+ Kxc7 47.e5 1–0

Alexander Donchenko | Photo: Jurriaan Hoefsmit / Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2023

Standings after round 7 - Challengers

All games - Challengers

Links

• Official site
• Tata Steel 2023: The youngest Wijk tournament of all time
• Ten trivia about the Tata Steel Tournament series, the Wimbledon of Chess