Tata Steel Chess R11: Abdusattorov leads, Wei and Vidit score brilliant wins

As sharp as it gets

There was no shortage of razor-sharp chess in round 11 of the Tata Steel Masters. After the third (and last) rest day, the participants returned to the playing hall in Wijk aan Zee ready to fight. All three decisive games featured eye-catching tactical shots, while the crucial matchup facing Gukesh D. and Alireza Firouzja was also sharp but ended in a draw.

At the end of the day, Nodirbek Abdusattorov emerged as the sole leader after beating Ju Wenjun with the white pieces. Last year, the 19-year-old from Tashkent had also entered the final two rounds in the sole lead, standing a half point ahead of Anish Giri. This time around, it is Gukesh who stands at a half-point distance in sole second place.

Against Ju, Abdusattorov played what he later described as a “dubious” novelty. He explained that he wanted to “freestyle it a bit” in this game.

7.c4 looks strange, but at the very least it had the women’s world champion thinking from the early stages of the game. Ju soon chose an imprecise plan, giving the initiative to her rival.

When Ju played her 22^nd move, she had 37 minutes to Abdusattorov’s 1 hour and 10 minutes. Moreover, her 22...Qc7 allowed White to give up his knight for a strong attack.

Abdusattorov realized tactics should work for him in this position, and after thinking for around 10 minutes played the strong 23.Nxf7. Black must grab the knight with 23...Kxf7, leaving both her bishop on b7 and her knight on e6 pinned.

White’s conversion was not perfect, but defending this position with Black was all but impossible with the clock dangerously ticking down.

With the king in the centre, Abdusattorov was looking for ways to checkmate his opponent, and he had little trouble finding the good-looking 28.Nd5

Black cannot capture the bishop with 28...Qxe6 due to 29.Nc7+, while the knight on d5 prevents the queen from defending along the e5-a8 diagonal. After 28...Bd8, Abdusattorov played the cold-blooded 29.h3 — dealing with potential back rank issues — and went on to grab the full point five moves later.

Expert analysis by IM Robert Ris

Calculation Training for 1400-1600 players

Mastering these tactical motifs is essential to deepen your understanding of the game and become a better player. After all, you neither want to overlook the given chances by your opponent, nor blunder yourself!

Wei and Vidit go for it!

The remaining two decisive games of the day were nothing short of spectacular, especially Wei Yi’s victory over Max Warmerdam. By move 8, Wei had only 40 minutes to Warmerdam’s 55 — and the white rook on h1 was about to fall!

There followed 9.Qe2 Nh1, and the commentators pointed out that this felt like a 19^th century battle — they were totally right!

Jaideep Unudurti pointed out on X:

Wei Yi doesn’t play for rating or tournament results but just to gather material for his Best Games collection.

Master advanced Tactics and Calculations like a super Grandmaster

The Indian chess grandmaster Vidit Gujrathi with an ELO of over 2700 (June 2023) is one of the best 20 players in the world. For the first time, the sympathetic top player presents himself in a video course. Let a world-class player show you tactical moti

The 24-year-old from Yancheng went on to get a remarkable 27-move victory (analysed below by GM Karsten Müller), and later noted that this was one of his most interesting games in the last five years. Indeed, this is not his first spectacular victory — find here another inspiring brilliancy by the Chinese star!

Wei Yi | Photo: Tata Steel Chess Tournament / Lennart Ootes

Vidit, on his part, saw the ever-fighting Parham Maghsoodloo entering a line that forced White to place the king on e2 early in the game.

Engines consider that White has a small edge after 14.Ke2, but playing with the initiative is surely preferable for human beings.

An inspired Vidit continued to find precise manoeuvres while keeping an advantage on the clock. By move 21, he already had the upper hand — and got to play what he described as “one of the best moves I’ve ever played”.

White had just captured a knight on f6, as after 21...gxf6 22.Qc3 it is Black who needs to be careful due to the vulnerable position of his king. Vidit noticed he was not forced to capture the rook, though — the elegant 21...Qe7 is the way to keep Black’s advantage, since the white rook is short of squares to escape.

There followed 21...Bxg7 22.Kxg7 Rf5 23.Rd8, and Vidit continued to make progress until his opponent resigned the game on move 37.

Vidit Gujrathi | Photo: Tata Steel Chess Tournament / Lennart Ootes

Results - Round 11

Wei 1 - 0 Warmerdam

Analysis by GM Karsten Müller

Wei, Yi2740

1–0

Warmerdam, Max2625

86th Tata Steel Masters 2024 Wijk aan Zee26.01.2024[Mueller,Karsten]

1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nf6 3.d3 Bc5 4.Nc3 c6

A sharp concept to counter White's opening idea - a version of the King's Gambit. 5.f4 d5 6.exd5 Ng4 7.Nf3 0-0 8.fxe5 Nf2 9.Qe2 All very sharp - but equal according to the engines. Nxh1 10.Bg5 Qa5 11.d6 Bg4 12.Be7 Nd7 13.e6 Ba3 14.exf7+ Kh8 15.0-0-0 Qxc3 16.bxa3 Bxf3?

But this reduces Black's attacking potential and opens a road for White's king into safety on the kingside. 16...a5! was called for, e.g. 17.Bxf8 Rxf8 18.Kb1 Qf6= 17.gxf3 Ne5 17...Qxa3+ is met by 18.Kd2 Qb4+ 18...b5 19.Bb3 Qb4+ 20.Kc1 Qa3+ 21.Kb1 a5 22.Bxf8 Rxf8 23.Qe7 a4 24.Qxd7 axb3 25.axb3 Ra8 26.Qe8++- 19.c3 Qb2+ 20.Ke1 Qxc3+ 21.Kf1 Qd4 22.Kg2 Ne5 23.Kxh1+- 18.Kb1 Qd4 19.Rxh1 Nxc4 20.dxc4 Qb6+ 21.Kc1 Rxf7?! 21...Qd4 is more tenacious, but does not defend due to 22.Bxf8 Rxf8 23.Rd1 23.Qe7+- wins as well. 23...Qa1+ 24.Kd2 Qd4+ 25.Qd3 Qf4+ 26.Kc3 Qxf7 27.d7 Rd8 28.Qd6 Kg8 29.Qc7 Qe7 30.Kb3 Qe3+ 31.Kb2+- 22.Rd1 Rff8 23.d7

The passed pawn decides. The direct 23.Bxf8 wins as well. 23...Rg8 24.Qe5 Rad8 25.f4 c5 26.Bxd8 Qxd8 27.Qxc5 27.Qxc5 Qf6 28.Qe5 Qd8 29.Qd5 Rf8 30.Qxb7 Qf6 31.Kb1 h6 32.Qc7+- 1–0

Attack like a Super Grandmaster

In this Fritztrainer: “Attack like a Super GM” with Gukesh we touch upon all aspects of his play, with special emphasis on how you can become a better attacking player.

Praggnanandhaa, who drew Alexander Donchenko with white, following the game of the day (of the tournament?) | Photo: Tata Steel Chess Tournament / Jurriaan Hoefsmit

Standings after round 11

All games

Challengers: Maurizzi wins fourth game in a row

While five players remain at a 1-point distance or less from the leader in the Masters, the fight for first in the Challengers has become a two-horse race, with Marc’Andria Maurizzi the clear favourite to take the title.

Maurizzi scored his fourth consecutive win (his seventh overall) to keep his full-point lead over Leon Luke Mendonca, who also won on Friday. Both frontrunners scored with white — Maurizzi got the better of Liam Vrolijk, while Mendonca defeated Liam Vrolijk.

These were only two of the six games that ended decisively in round 11. Top seed Hans Niemann was one of the winners, as he got to play a great-looking final move in his game with black against Stefan Beukema.

33...Qxe2+ was followed by Beukema’s resignation — 34.Kxe2 Bxf4+ 35.Rd2 Rdxd2+ 36.Ke1 Bxg3+ 37.Kf1 Rd1# is one of the winning lines!

Niemann is sharing fifth place with Saleh Salem and Anton Korobov, two points behind Maurizzi with two rounds to go.

Expert analysis by IM Robert Ris

The Keymer Variation - 1.Nf3 d5 2.e3

This video course features the ins-and-outs of the possible setups Black can choose. You’ll learn the key concepts and strategies needed to add this fantastic opening to your repertoire. An easy-to-learn and yet venomous weapon.

Results - Round 11

Harika 0 - 1 Salem

Analysis by GM Karsten Müller

Dronavalli, Harika2500

0–1

Salem, A.R. Saleh2630

86th Tata Steel Challengers 2024 Wijk aan Zee26.01.2024[Mueller,Karsten]

1.Nf3 d5 2.d4 e6 3.c4 Nf6 4.Nc3 c6 5.e3 Nbd7 6.Qc2 Bd6 7.b3 0-0 8.Be2 b6 9.Bb2 Bb7 10.0-0 c5 11.cxd5 exd5 12.Rfd1 Re8 13.Rac1 Rc8 14.Qf5 14.Bd3!? 14...g6 15.Qh3 a6 16.dxc5 bxc5 17.Qh4 Bf8 18.Bd3 Bg7 19.Ba1?

White does not have time for this retreat. 19.Na4 is called for and more or less equal. 19...d4! A typical powerful advance, which shows how powerful Black's pieces are positioned. 20.exd4? This opens the position for Black. 20.Na4! is forced to limit the damage. 20...Bxf3 21.gxf3 cxd4 22.Qxd4?

This runs into a mighty knight blow. 22.Bxa6 is more tenacious, but does not defend due to Rxc3 23.Bxc3 dxc3 24.Rxc3 Qb6 25.Rc8 Rxc8 26.Bxc8 Ne5-+ 22...Nh5! Black wins material as White's queen has no good squares. 23.Qa4 23.Qg4 Ne5-+ 23...Nc5! 24.Bxa6 24.Qg4 Nxd3-+ 24...Nxa4 25.Rxd8 Rexd8 26.Bxc8 26.bxa4 Rc6 27.Bb5 Rc5 28.Bb2 Rdc8 29.Ba6 R8c7 30.Ne2 Bxb2-+ 26...Nxc3 27.Bxc3 27.Ba6 Nxa2-+ 27...Bxc3 28.Ba6 28.Rxc3 Rd1+ 29.Kg2 Nf4+ 30.Kg3 Ne2+-+ 28...Nf4!?

The knight joins the attack forcefully. 29.Bf1 29.Rxc3 is met by Rd1+ 30.Bf1 Ne2+ 31.Kg2 Nxc3-+ 29...Be5 30.Re1 f6 31.a4 Rd2 Black's attack with opposite-colored bishops will decide the day. 32.Re4 g5 33.h4 Bd4 34.Bc4+ Kf8 35.hxg5 Bxf2+ 36.Kf1 Bg3 37.Be2 Rb2 37...Rb2 38.Rxf4 38.Bd1 Rf2+ 39.Kg1 39.Ke1 Ng2# 39...Nh3+ 40.Kh1 Rh2# 38.b4 Rb1+ 39.Bd1 Rxd1+ 40.Re1 Rxe1# 38...Bxf4 39.gxf6 Rxb3-+ 0–1

Magical Chess Endgames

In over 4 hours in front of the camera, Karsten Müller presents to you sensations from the world of endgames - partly reaching far beyond standard techniques and rules of thumb - and rounds off with some cases of with own examples.

Saleh Salem defeated Harika Dronavalli with the black peices | Photo: Tata Steel Chess Tournament / Jurriaan Hoefsmit

Standings after round 11

All games

Links

• Official website
• Anish Giri wins Tata Steel Masters after late twist (2023)
• Magnus Carlsen grabs eighth title in Wijk aan Zee (2022)
• Van Foreest beats Giri in Armageddon, wins Tata Steel Masters (2021)