1/22/2025 – Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu claimed a third consecutive win in the Tata Steel Masters, defeating Leon Luke Mendonca to take the sole lead after four rounds. Pentala Harikrishna and Vladimir Fedoseev also scored victories, with Harikrishna winning in just 23 moves against Max Warmerdam and Fedoseev defeating an out-of-form Arjun Erigaisi. In the Challengers, Thai Dai Van Nguyen, Erwin l'Ami and Lu Miaoyi retained their co-lead after drawing their games, while Vaishali Rameshbabu, Divya Deshmukh and Benjamin Bok secured wins to close the gap at the top. | Photo: Tata Steel Chess / Lennart Ootes
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Strategic prowess
Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu secured his third consecutive victory to become the sole leader in the Tata Steel Masters after four rounds. Playing with white against Leon Luke Mendonca, Pragg displayed excellent strategic understanding in a Ruy Lopez. An early middlegame advantage led to an extra pawn, which he converted with precision into a 46-move win. With a score of 3½/4, the 19-year-old has gained 14.2 rating points, climbing five spots to number eight in the live ratings.
Nodirbek Abdusattorov, who shared the lead with Pragg after three rounds, missed a critical opportunity in his game against defending champion Wei Yi. Playing white, Abdusattorov could have gained a clear edge with 15.c5, as after 15...Bxd3 16.Qxd3 bxc5 17.Qb5+ Nc6 18.dxc5, White would have been in the driver’s seat.
Abdusattorov v. Wei
Abdusattorov played 15.Bf4 instead of the strong 15.c5 - feel free to move the pieces on the dynamic diagram to try your own variations
However, he chose 15.Bf4 instead, allowing Wei to stabilise. The game eventually ended in a 43-move draw, leaving Abdusattorov half a point behind Pragg.
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.
Two other draws were Fabiano Caruana v. Anish Giri and Alexey Sarana v. Gukesh Dommaraju. Caruana and Gukesh, both in dangerous positions, managed to salvage half points. Gukesh was particularly tested, as Sarana pushed hard in their encounter. Both players now stand at +1, a full point behind the leader.
Alexey Sarana facing world champion Gukesh | Photo: Tata Steel Chess / Lennart Ootes
Pentala Harikrishna and Vladimir Fedoseev also scored victories in round four. Harikrishna played an impressive game against Max Warmerdam, sacrificing a knight on f7 early in the game to disrupt his opponent's king position. The attack culminated in a crushing victory in just 23 moves. Harikrishna later noted that his participation as a second in team Gukesh during the World Championship match against Ding Liren had significantly sharpened his play. (Find below expert analysis of the game by GM Daniel King).
Vladimir Fedoseev's victory came at the expense of an out-of-form Arjun Erigaisi, who continues his streak of poor performances in Wijk aan Zee. After winning the Challengers section in 2022 with an impressive 10½/13, Arjun struggled in the Masters the following year, scoring no wins and suffering five losses. His difficulties have carried into this year's edition, where he has started with three losses and a single draw, leaving him with a disappointing ½/4 score.
In his game against Fedoseev, Arjun had a clear advantage at one point but began to lose control after his 26th move. The critical mistake came on move 27 when he played 27.Nxf5 instead of the accurate 27.Re1.
Arjun v. Fedoseev
This error by the Indian allowed Fedoseev to execute 27...Qxf5 28.Rxf5 Rxg3 29.hxg3Ne3, forking Arjun's rooks.
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With a decisive material advantage, Fedoseev efficiently converted the position to secure his first victory of the event.
Vladimir Fedoseev defeated Arjun Erigaisi | Photo: Tata Steel Chess / Lennart Ootes
87th Tata Steel Masters 2025 Wijk aan Zee21.01.2025[Schulz,A]
1.e4e52.Nf3Nc63.Bb5a64.Ba4Nf65.d3b56.Bb3Bc5A Spanish or perhaps an Italian - depending on how one views it - where White has granted the opponent the tempi to play a6 and b5.7.Bg5The main line is7.0-0d68.c30-0and then9.h3or9.Bg57...h68.Bh4d69.c3After9.0-0there follows naturallyg59...Bb69...g5!?10.Bg30-011.Nbd2Bb612.Qe2Kg713.h4g414.Nh2Ne7=0-1 (37) Saric,I (2647)-Caruana,F (2786) Chess.com INT 202310.a4Rb811.axb5axb512.Na3b413.Nc4bxc314.bxc30-0In a previous game, the continuation was14...g515.Bg3Bd716.h4g417.Nfd2h518.0-0+-1-0 (35) Sethuraman,S (2582)-Sivuk,V (2490) Sitges 202315.0-0Kh816.Ba4Bd717.Rb1
White is more active.17...g5So, here it comes after all.18.Bg3Ba719.Ra1Bb620.Re1Ne7The knight is aiming for f4, but White can disrupt that idea.21.d4Bxa422.Rxa4exd423.cxd4Ng623...Nxe424.Rxe4d5doesn't work because of25.Rxe724.e5Nh5This relieving manoeuvre costs a pawn in the end.24...dxe525.Ncxe5Nxe526.Bxe5was far from favourable:Kg827.h4g428.Qc1+-25.exd6Nxg326.dxc7Qxc727.hxg3Rbe828.Ne3Qd7
29.Qa1Black's pieces are now under constant pressure.Kh730.Ra6Rb831.Nc4Bc732.Ra7Qc633.Rc1Ra834.d5!The queen is overloaded.Rxa735.Qxa7Ra835...Bb836.dxc636.Qxf7+Rxf737.dxc6+-36...Bxa737.c7Rc838.Nd6+-36.Qd4Qd737.d6Bd838.Nce5Qe639.Nxg6fxg640.Re1Qf741.Qe4Ra742.Ne5Qe643.Nc6Qxe444.Rxe4Rd745.Re6h546.Kh246.Re7+failed due toBxe747.dxe7Rd1+48.Kh2Re11–0
Doesn’t every chess game get decided by mistakes? Absolutely. But most players never truly comprehend that they are making the same kind of mistakes over and over again.
Following a round in which all seven games ended decisively, favouring the players with the white pieces, Tuesday's fourth round of the Tata Steel Challengers section saw three games ending decisively. The three co-leaders - Thai Dai Van Nguyen, Erwin l'Ami and 14-year-old Lu Miaoyi - drew their respective games and remain tied at the top of the standings.
The decisive results came from Vaishali Rameshbabu, Divya Deshmukh and Benjamin Bok. Vaishali demonstrated strong tactical play to defeat Nodirbek Yakubboev with the black pieces. Divya overcame Ediz Gürel in a positional game that lasted 56 moves, while Bok outplayed Faustino Oro, the 11-year-old Argentine talent, who struggled to keep pace in their encounter.
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Vaishali, Bok and Aydin Suleymanli now form the chasing pack, sitting half a point behind the leading trio. Suleymanli signed three draws so far, and defeated Divya in the all-decisive third round on Monday.
Divya Deshmukh | Photo: Tata Steel Chess / Lennart Ootes
Benjamin Bok | Photo: Tata Steel Chess / Lennart Ootes
87th Tata Steel Challengers 2025 Wijk aan Zee21.01.2025[Schulz,A]
1.d4d52.Nf3Nf63.c4e64.Nc3c65.Bg5Nbd76.e3Qa5The Cambridge Springs Variation also has its followers among top players.7.Nd2The alternative is7.cxd5Nxd5with the current example being8.Rc1Nxc39.bxc3Ba310.Rc2c511.Bd3cxd412.exd4b613.Be4Rb814.Bf4Bb715.Qe2Ba616.Bd3Bxd317.Qxd3Rc8=1-0 (56) Carlsen,M (2831)-Keymer,V (2733) Kolkata 20247...dxc48.Bxf6Nxf69.Nxc4Qc710.Rc1Bd610...Be711.g30-012.Bg2Rd813.0-0Bd714.Qb3Rac815.Rfd1Be8=1/2-1/2 (46) Grischuk,A (2779)-Carlsen,M (2851) Paris 2017 CBM 179 [Yermolinsky,Alex ]11.f40-011...Be712.Be20-013.Bf3Rd814.0-0Bd715.Ne4Nd516.Qe2Be817.a3b618.Ne5c51/2-1/2 (36) Navara,D (2674)-Keymer,V (2719) Polanica Zdroj 202412.Bd3Be713.0-0c514.Qe2Bd7
Black has equalised the position.15.dxc5Qxc516.Ne5Threatening Ne4, Nxf6 and Nxd7.Rfc817.Rc217.Ne4Qxc118.Rxc118.Nxf6+Bxf619.Bxh7+Kxh720.Qh5+Kg821.Qxf7+Kh722.Qh5+results in perpetual check.18...Rxc1+19.Kf2Be8and Black stands not worse, with two rooks for the queen.17...Be8
18.Rfc1Now threatens Ne4 again, and the rook on c8 is hanging.Rd819.Nb5Qb620.Nc7Rab820...Rac8was also ok:21.Nxe8Rxc222.Nxf6+gxf623.Bxh7+Kf8Not23...Kxh7??24.Qh5+Kg825.Qxf7+Kh826.Ng6#24.Bxc2fxe521.Kh1?!21.Nxe8Rxe822.Nc4Qd8=21...Bc6White now has to attend to his knight.22.Nxc6bxc623.Na6Rbc824.Nc5Rd524...Bxc5!?25.Rxc5Rd6with doubling of the rooks and play on the d-file was also to be considered.25.Nb3h526.Bc4Rd727.Nd4Ng4
The game now picks up considerable pace with many tactical subtleties.28.Ba6With an attack on c6 (and the rook on c8).Another idea was28.Nxe6Nxe328...fxe6??29.Bxe6+Kf830.Bxd7+-29.Ba6Rb8e.g.:30.Rxc6Qxc6Or30...Rd1+31.Rxd1Qxc632.Qxe3Rxb233.Be2Qxe634.Qxe6fxe635.Bc4Kf7=31.Rxc6Rd1+32.Qxd1Nxd133.Ng5=28...Rcc729.Rxc6Bf6
Black has time to threaten the defending piece on d4, as White cannot capture on b6.30.Bc8??The correct move was30.R1c3with the possible continuationRxc631.Rxc6Bxd432.Rxb6Bxb6with the threat of Rd1 and Nf2.33.g3Bxe334.h3Rd1+35.Kg2Rd236.Kf3Bxf437.Qb5Rf2+38.Ke4Nf6+39.Kd3Rf3+40.Kc4Rxg341.Qc5Be3Black has a lot of material for the queen.30...Rxc6!31.Rxc6Rc7‼The capture.32.Bd732.Rxc7Qxc7Threatening mate.33.Qc2Qb6-+with many threats, as e3 falls.32...Bxd432...Bxd433.exd4Rxc6-+0–1
Carlos Alberto ColodroCarlos 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.
Ruy Lopez Powerbase 2025 is a database and contains a total of 12092 games from Mega 2025 and the Correspondence Database 2024, of which 1276 are annotated.
In this 60 Minutes, Andrew Martin guides you through all the key ideas you need to know to play with confidence. Whether you’re looking to surprise your opponents, or simply want a straightforward weapon against e5, the Centre Attack has you covered.
Videos by Mihail Marin: Najdorf Variation with 6.f4 and Nico Zwirs: Italian ‘giucco pianissimo’. ‘Lucky bag’ with 45 analyses by Edouard, Ftacnik, Gupta, Pelletier and others. Update service with over 50,000 new games for your database!
This video course provides a comprehensive and practical White repertoire in the Ruy Lopez! Through instructive model games and in-depth theoretical explanations, you will learn how to confidently handle both main lines and sidelines.
Chess Festival Prague 2025 with analyses by Aravindh, Giri, Gurel, Navara and others. ‘Special’: 27 highly entertaining miniatures. Opening videos by Werle, King and Ris. 10 opening articles with new repertoire ideas and much more.
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