Tata Steel Chess R10: Gukesh wins again, Abdusattorov keeps up the pace

by Carlos Alberto Colodro
1/30/2025 – Round 10 of the Tata Steel Chess Tournament saw the frontrunners in both the Masters and Challengers sections claiming crucial victories. In the Masters, Gukesh Dommaraju held onto his lead by beating Max Warmerdam, while Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu also won to keep the title race tight. Similarly, in the Challengers, Thai Dai Van Nguyen remained in first place with a win, with Erwin l'Ami and Aydin Suleymanli also scoring full points to stay in the race for overall victory. | Photo: Tata Steel Chess / Lennart Ootes
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Gukesh, Abdusattorov and Pragg score

Gukesh Dommaraju remains in the sole lead at the Tata Steel Masters after scoring his fifth victory of the event, this time against Max Warmerdam with the black pieces. The world champion has shown remarkable consistency, collecting five wins and five draws in his first ten games. His closest chasers also won on Wednesday, with Nodirbek Abdusattorov beating Alexey Sarana to stay half a point behind, while Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu got the better of Vladimir Fedoseev to stand in sole third place, a full point behind the leader.

Gukesh surprised Warmerdam right from the opening, responding to 1.e4 with 1...d6 and prompting an unusual 2.g3 from his opponent. In the complex struggle ensued, both players eventually found themselves in time trouble. Warmerdam faltered amid a tricky middlegame, allowing Gukesh to break through and convert his advantage.

Abdusattorov, meanwhile, played an aggressive early 7.g4 against Sarana, leading to a wild tactical battle. The Serbian grandmaster blundered in severe time pressure with 39...Kf8 instead of 39...Kg8, missing a crucial defensive resource.

After the text move, 40.Nxf6+ left Black unable to recapture with 40...Rxf6 due to 41.Qa8+, with checkmate incoming on e8. Had the king been on g8, it could have escaped via h7. Sarana tried 40...Qd1+, but White's king escaped the checks and Abdusattorov went on to convert his material advantage into a crucial victory.

Pragg’s victory was more straightforward, as Fedoseev misplayed the opening and found himself on the back foot early on. The Slovenian grandmaster put up stiff resistance, complicating the position, but Pragg showed good technique to convert his advantage.

In Friday's round 11, Gukesh will face defending champion Wei Yi with the white pieces, while Abdusattorov will take on Vincent Keymer with black.

Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu

Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu | Photo: Tata Steel Chess / Jurriaan Hoefsmit

Warmerdam 0 - 1 Gukesh

Analysis by Johannes Fischer

Abdusattorov 1 - 0 Sarana

Analysis by Johannes Fischer

Nodirbek Abdusattorov

Nodirbek Abdusattorov | Photo: Tata Steel Chess / Lennart Ootes

Expert commentary

Analysis by GM Daniel King

Analysis by IM Sagar Shah

Round 10 results

Standings

All games

Challengers: Nguyen beats Vaishali, leads

Similarly to the Masters section, the frontrunners in the Challengers scored important victories in round 10. Thai Dai Van Nguyen (like Gukesh) remained in the sole lead after winning his game, Erwin l'Ami (like Abdusattorov) grabbed a full point to stay half a point behind, while Aydin Suleymanli (like Pragg) won to join Benjamin Bok in third place, a further half point back. Unlike the top section, which saw only three decisive games, five players claimed victories in the Challengers on Wednesday, with Frederik Svane and Arthur Pijpers also scoring wins.

With three rounds to go and three players within a point of the leader, the race for first place remains wide open. The ultimate prize at stake is a spot in next year's Masters, making each remaining game crucial. The only remaining direct clash between the top four contenders will take place in the final round on Sunday, when Bok will have the white pieces against Nguyen.

Before that, in Friday's round 11, Nguyen and l'Ami will both have to navigate difficult challenges with the black pieces. The leader is set to face Svane, who comes from a victory, while his closest rival will take on the ambitious Lu Miaoyi, who has already proven to be a tough opponent in Wijk aan Zee.

Divya 0 - 1 Svane

Analysis by Johannes Fischer

Frederik Svane

Frederik Svane | Photo: Tata Steel Chess / Lennart Ootes

Round 10 results

Standings

All games

Links

Carlos Colodro is a Hispanic Philologist from Bolivia. He works as a freelance translator and writer since 2012. A lot of his work is done in chess-related texts, as the game is one of his biggest interests, along with literature and music.