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What a conclusion to yet another memorable edition of the Tata Steel Masters in Wijk aan Zee! Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu and Gukesh Dommaraju entered the final round tied for first place, with Nodirbek Abdusattorov a full point behind in sole third place. For Abdusattorov to reach a potential tiebreaker, he needed to beat Pentala Harikrishna while both Indian stars lost their games. In a dramatic turn of events, both Gukesh and Pragg were indeed defeated, but Abdusattorov could only manage a draw, setting up a playoff for the tournament title.
In the final round of classical chess, Gukesh suffered a swift defeat at the hands of Arjun Erigaisi, who continued his strong finish to the event with a 31-move win - Arjun had defeated Abdusattorov in the previous round, in what was his first-ever victory in the Masters.
Meanwhile, Pragg fought for over six hours against Vincent Keymer, but ultimately lost after 80 moves. Keymer, playing with the white pieces, converted an extra pawn in a complex endgame with queens and bishops of opposite colours. While the engine evaluation showed a clear advantage for the German GM, Pragg put up stiff resistance, and at moments it seemed he might salvage a draw - an outcome that would have given him outright victory. In the end, however, Keymer managed to convert his advantage, leading to a blitz tiebreaker between the two Indian prodigies.
The playoff featured two blitz games with a 3+2 time control, followed by sudden-death encounters if needed. Gukesh and Pragg each won once with the white pieces in the initial mini-match. In the first sudden-death game, Pragg had white and found himself in trouble, but he held on until reaching a balanced knight endgame.
In a shocking twist, Gukesh blundered in the technical phase, allowing Pragg to seize the advantage and claim victory.
With this dramatic win, Pragg, aged 19, secured the Tata Steel Masters title, capping off an incredible final day in Wijk aan Zee.
Gukesh Dommaraju's frustration after misplaying a drawn knight endgame | Photo: Tata Steel Chess / Lennart Ootes
Pragg's victory marked a major milestone in his career, as he claimed his first-ever triumph in a super-tournament. Despite losing his final-round classical game, he gained 17.2 rating points, climbing to world number 7. His performance in Wijk aan Zee adds to an already impressive résumé, which includes reaching the final of the 2023 World Cup after knocking out, among others, Arjun, Hikaru Nakamura and Fabiano Caruana. In the final, he lost to Magnus Carlsen, but his deep run in the event secured him a spot in the upcoming Candidates Tournament.
Gukesh, competing in his first tournament as world champion, also made a significant rating gain of 10.2 points, moving up to world number 3. He was the sole leader of the event from rounds 9 to 11 and had a strong chance to take the title outright,as only a final-round loss meant he had to go to tiebreaks. In the playoff, he started with a win and later obtained a superior position in the third blitz game, but an endgame blunder allowed Pragg to take the victory. This was also the second year in a row that Gukesh finished tied for first place in Wijk aan Zee, having lost the 2024 playoff against Wei Yi.
India's growing influence in world chess was further reinforced by these performances, as three of its young stars now sit in the world's top 10. Gukesh is ranked third, while Pragg's success has pushed him to seventh place. Although Arjun had a disappointing showing in the tournament, he remains a strong presence in the top 10, currently ranked fifth. As noted during the final-round commentary from Wijk, it is not unlikely that the next World Championship match could be an all-Indian showdown.
The winning family: Vaishali and Praggnanandhaa with their mum, who often accompanies her in tournaments | Photo: Tata Steel Chess / Lennart Ootes
Gukesh, Pragg and Arjun amid a magnificent group of talented Indian youngsters during a 2020 training camp with Vladimir Kramnik, Boris Gelfand and ChessBase's chief editor emeritus Frederic Friedel!
Three games ended decisively in the final round of classical chess, two of which directly impacted the final standings, as mentioned above. Arjun and Keymer defeated the co-leaders, Gukesh and Pragg, respectively.
The third winner of the day was Max Warmerdam, who upset top seed Fabiano Caruana with the black pieces. Warmerdam, who had suffered three consecutive losses before the final round, ended his campaign on a positive note. Caruana, on the other hand, finished with a -1 score and lost 19.9 rating points, a major setback for the world number two.
Arjun's win over Gukesh was particularly impressive, as he played forcefully in a position with opposite-side castling to secure a 31-move victory. A critical moment arose on move 14, when Gukesh played the natural-looking 14.Bxh3 instead of sacrificing an exchange with 14.Bf3
The latter move would have allowed White to keep the bishop pair with attacking chances, a choice the world champion might have considered more seriously under different circumstances.
In the game, Arjun's kingside attack proved to be more effective than Gukesh's rook-led initiative. Once Black had established full control, Arjun played the precise 28...Kd8 to consolidate his advantage.
The alternative 28...Kb8 would have allowed White to complicate matters with 29.g4, when Black would be forced to play 29...Qh1+, entering a superior endgame. However, Black should not play 29...Qb5, as happened in the game, because of 30.Qg3+ Ka8 31.Rxa7+ (diagram below) Kxa7, after which Black would be forced to block the check with his queen.
In the game, Arjun's rooks broke through decisively along the h-file, sealing the victory.
Keymer's victory over Pragg was a long technical battle, as the German grandmaster worked hard to convert his extra pawn in an endgame with bishops of opposite colours. At one point, Keymer gave up his extra pawn in an attempt to break through, and despite having a winning position, he blundered with 70.e5
Praggnanandhaa found the correct response with 70...Bxe5, as he had an escape route after 71.Be4 Kg8. However, just five moves later, Pragg made a crucial mistake under pressure, allowing Keymer to claim victory.
Round 13 results
The Challengers section saw an exciting conclusion, with three players entering the final round tied for first place. In the end, two of them - Thai Dai Van Nguyen and Aydin Suleymanli - secured victories, while Erwin l'Ami suffered a defeat against Vaishali Rameshbabu. Vaishali, who had lost her previous three games, ended her tournament on a high note by upsetting the experienced Dutch grandmaster.
Since there is no blitz playoff in the Challengers, the tournament winner was decided based on tiebreak criteria. As the direct encounter between Nguyen and Suleymanli had ended in a draw, the Sonneborn-Berger system was used to determine the champion, with Nguyen claiming first place and earning a spot in next year's Masters.
It was an unfortunate outcome for Suleymanli, who had impressively finished the event with four consecutive wins. The 19-year-old Azerbaijani grandmaster showcased his resilience and fighting spirit throughout the tournament, and although he narrowly missed out on first place, he is undoubtedly a player to watch in the coming years.
In the final round, Nguyen defeated Benjamin Bok in a tense battle. Understanding that a win was necessary to stay in contention for the title, the Czech GM complicated matters in a sharp middlegame. Bok made a crucial mistake with 41.Bc5+, when 41.Be5 was necessary to provide better defensive chances against Black’s advancing b-pawn.
In the final position, Bok resigned as there was no way to prevent the pawn from queening.
Nguyen, who is 23 years old, is a Czech grandmaster and the second highest-rated player in his country, behind only David Navara. Following this victory, Nguyen is now the 49th highest-rated player in the world, and he will have a chance to prove himself at the Masters next year against some of the world’s best players.
Aydin Suleymanli | Photo: Tata Steel Chess / Lennart Ootes
Round 13 results
