Tata Steel Chess R5: Abdusattorov catches Pragg, Fedoseev stuns Caruana

Gukesh, Fedoseev and Abdusattorov score

Vladimir Fedoseev is one of the players who has been performing well at the Tata Steel Masters. He began with three draws, against Jorden van Foreest, world champion Gukesh Dommaraju and Anish Giri, before stepping up his game. In round four, the Russian player, who has now switched to the Slovenian Chess Federation, defeated world number four Arjun Erigaisi, albeit with some luck. In round five, Fedoseev followed this up with a victory over world number two Fabiano Caruana.

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Fedoseev had the white pieces, and after opening with the Ragozin Defence, the game remained balanced until the time control. In the minor piece endgame, however, the tide turned in Fedoseev's favour as he managed to establish a passed pawn on the e-file.

Interview with Vladimir Fedoseev:

Vincent Keymer had 1½ points after four rounds, benefiting from a bit of good fortune. Against Leon Luke Mendonca, Keymer, with the black pieces, found himself in trouble in a long theoretical line of the Two Knights Defence but managed to win the game. Against Max Warmerdam, the German number one held on in a position that seemed beyond saving for a long time, earning a draw for his tenacious defence. The draws against Wei Yi and Jorden van Foreest were relatively uneventful. Apart from Wei, the major challenges are still ahead for the German star.

In the final round before the rest day, Keymer faced a world-class challenge. He went up against Gukesh, who is playing his first tournament as World Champion on the chilly North Sea coast. Keymer, with the black pieces, opted for the Nimzo-Indian Defence in response to Gukesh's 1.d4. The world champion chose the Rubinstein variation (4.e3) and then the trendy move 5.Bd2. This move was once considered unlikely to provide an advantage, but times have changed. Players like Spielmann, Tarrasch, Tartakower and Alekhine used 5.Bd2 or 6.Bd2 in the 1920s to avoid doubled pawns. Perhaps the merit of this move was simply forgotten.

Keymer emerged well from the opening, but then became overambitious on the kingside, losing a pawn. Gukesh created a passed pawn on the queenside, patiently advancing it towards the promotion square to secure victory.

Gukesh D2777

1–0

Keymer, Vincent2733

87th Tata Steel Masters 2025 Wijk aan Zee22.01.2025[Schulz, A]

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 0-0 5.Bd2 5.Nf3 d5 6.Bd2 is a transposition. 5...d5 6.Nf3 Nbd7 6...b6 7.Qc2 Keymer is also familiar with this variation from White’s perspective. 7.Rc1 The main line. c6 8.Bd3 Qe7 9.Ne2 e5 10.Bxb4 Qxb4+ 11.Qd2 Qe7 12.dxe5 Nxe5 13.Nxe5 Qxe5 14.0-0 dxc4 15.Bxc4 c5 16.Rfd1 Bd7= 1/2-1/2 (44) Keymer, V (2700)-Harikrishna, P (2717) chess24.com INT 2022 7...c6 8.Be2 8.Bd3 Qe7 9.0-0 e5 10.dxe5 Nxe5 11.Nxe5 Qxe5 12.cxd5 cxd5 13.Ne2 Bd6 14.Ng3 Qg5 15.f4 Qh4 16.Rf3 g6 17.Bc3 Bg4= 1-0 (46) Nakamura, H (2794)-Eljanov, P (2671) Chess.com INT 2024 8...b6 9.0-0 a5 10.a3 Bxc3 11.Bxc3 Ne4 12.Be1 Ba6

Black has equalised. 13.Bd3 h6 One could also consider 13...f5 14.Bxe4 dxe4 15.Nd2 f5 16.f3 Otherwise, e5 would follow, with good play for Black. exf3 17.Nxf3 c5 18.Rd1 cxd4 19.Rxd4 Qe8 20.Bg3 e5 21.Rd6 Rc8 22.Rfd1 f4 22...Rf7= 23.exf4 exf4 24.Bf2 Rf7 White's rooks are slightly more active on the d-file, and White also has a pawn majority on the queenside. 25.R1d4 Bb7 26.Qd1 Bc6 27.b4 axb4 28.axb4 Qe7 29.Qd3 Nf6 30.Rxf4

30.b5 Be4 31.Qe2 Ra8 32.Ne1± 30...Be4? With 30...Ne8!? 31.Rdd4 Rxf4 32.Rxf4 Qxb4= Black would regain the pawn. 31.Qd4 Bxf3 32.Rxf3 Qe2 33.Rd8+ Rxd8 34.Qxd8+ Rf8 35.Qd3 Qxd3 36.Rxd3 Rc8 Black must now fight for a draw with a pawn down. 37.Rd4 Kf7 38.Kf1 Ra8 39.Ke2 Ra4 40.Be1 Ke6 41.Bd2 h5 42.Kd3 Ng4 43.Kc3 Nf6 43...Nxh2 is unfavourable: 44.Re4+ Kd7 45.Be3 Kc6 46.b5+ Kb7 47.Re7++- 44.Kb3 Ra1 45.Bc3 Rb1+ 46.Kc2

The endgame is clearly won for White. White must still overcome some technical hurdles before the passed pawn on the queenside decides the game. 46...Rf1 47.Rd2 Ne8 48.Kb3 g6 49.Bd4 Rb1+ 50.Ka4 Rc1 51.Bxb6 Rxc4 52.Kb5 Rc1 53.Bc5 Nf6 54.Rd6+ Kf5 55.Kc6 Ng4 56.Rd2 Ke6 57.Rd6+ Kf5 58.b5 58.Rd5+!? Kf6 59.b5 Rb1 60.Bd4+ Ke7 61.b6 Rc1+ 62.Bc5+ Ke6 63.b7 Rb1 64.Rd6+ Kf7 65.Bb6+- 58...Ne5+ 59.Kd5 Nd3 60.Rc6 Nf4+ 61.Kd6 Rd1+ 62.Kc7 Nd5+ 63.Kc8 Rc1 64.Kd7 Rc2 65.Bd6 Rxg2 66.Rc5 Ke4 67.Ke6 Rd2 68.h4 Nb6 69.Rc6 Nd5 70.b6 Nxb6 71.Rxb6 Kf3 72.Be7 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.

Gukesh's perspective on the game:

Nodirbek Abdusattorov secured the third victory of the day, first successfully defending a tough position against Van Foreest. In the Advance variation of the Caro-Kann Defence, Abdusattorov castled long, while the Dutchman launched an uncompromising attack, sacrificing material. However, the Uzbek star defended carefully and emerged victorious in the end.

Van Foreest, Jorden2680

0–1

Abdusattorov, Nodirbek2768

Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2025 Masters Wijk aan Zee, Netherlands22.01.2025[Schulz, A]

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 A serious alternative is 3...c5 4.c4 At this point, White has practically tried every legal move. e6 5.Nc3 Bb4 The main moves are 5...Ne7 and 5...Nd7 6.Nge2 Most commonly played here is 6.Qb3 and for example: Bxc3+ 7.Qxc3 Ne7 8.Nf3 Nd7 9.c5 b6 10.b4 a5 11.a3 0-0 12.Bg5 h6 13.Bh4 Be4 14.Be2 axb4 15.axb4 Rxa1+ 16.Qxa1 g5 17.Bg3 Qa8 18.0-0 Nf5 19.Qc3 Qa2 20.Nd2 bxc5 21.dxc5 Ra8 22.Nxe4 Qxe2 23.Nd6 d4 24.Qb3 d3 25.Qc4 Qxf1+ 0-1 (25) Kucza, K (2343)-Pranav, V (2579) Chess.com INT 2023 6...Ne7 7.a3 Ba5 8.b4 Bc7 9.Ng3 Bg6 9...0-0!?= 10.h4 h6 11.h5 Bh7 12.Qg4 Rg8

White has a certain spatial advantage. 13.Be2 dxc4 14.Bxc4 Nd7 15.0-0 Nf5 16.Be3 Qe7 17.b5 17.Qf3!? 0-0-0 18.Nxf5 Bxf5 19.Rfc1 g6 20.b5± 17...c5 18.Nxf5 Bxf5 19.Qf3 0-0-0

20.Nd5?! White wants to accelerate his attack using tactical means but fails to break through effectively. 20.Rfc1 20...exd5 21.Bxd5 Kb8 22.Qxf5 Nxe5 23.dxe5 Rxd5 24.f4 Rgd8 25.Qe4 f6 26.a4 fxe5 27.a5 Qe8 28.b6 28.Qc4 exf4 29.Bxf4 Qd7-+ with an extra pawn for Black. 28...axb6 29.axb6 Bxb6 30.fxe5 30.Rfb1 Qc6-+ 30...Bc7 30...Rxe5!? 31.Bf4 Bc7 32.Bxe5 Bxe5 33.Rae1 Bd4+ 34.Kh2 Qxh5+ 35.Kg3 Rd5-+ 31.Bf4 White had slightly more chances with 31.e6 31...Rd4 32.Qe2 Rxf4 33.Rxf4 Qxe5 34.Qa2 Qe3+ 35.Rf2

35...Bg3 Black has calculated that White's final attack fizzles out as the king escapes into safety. 36.Qa8+ Kc7 37.Qa5+ b6 38.Qa7+ Kc6 39.Qa4+ b5 40.Qa6+ Kd5 41.Qb7+ Kc4 42.Qf7+ Rd5 43.Raa2 Bxf2+ 44.Rxf2 Qd4 45.Kh2 Qe5+ 46.Kg1 Kb4 47.Rf1 Rd2 47...Rd2 48.Rb1+ Rb2-+ 0–1

Abdusattorov's analysis:

The other games ended in draws. Wei Yi and Pentala Harikrishna played a short game in the Classical Variation of the French Defence.

Co-leader Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu | Photo: Tata Steel Chess / Lennart Ootes

Max Warmerdam and Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu also explored a French Defence, though Warmerdam quickly altered the pawn structure with the Exchange Variation, leading to a highly symmetrical position. Arjun Erigaisi opted for the rarely seen Blumenfeld Gambit against Mendonca and managed to obtain compensation sufficient for a draw. The Italian Game between Anish Giri and Alexey Sarana also ended in a draw.

With his win, Nodirbek Abdusattorov has now joined Praggnanandhaa at the top of the standings.

Thursday is the first rest day of the tournament.

Expert commentary

Analysis by GM Daniel King

Analysis by IM Sagar Shah

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Round 5 results

Standings

All games

Challengers: L'Ami takes the lead

In the Challengers tournament, Erwin L'Ami has now taken the lead. In one of the main lines of the Catalan Opening, the experienced player, with the white pieces, sacrificed material to gain superior coordination and secured victory in a model game against Divya Deshmukh.

Divya Deshmukh | Photo: Tata Steel Chess / Lennart Ootes

Understanding Middlegame Strategies Vol.11 - King's Indian Structures

This course will enhance your understanding of the King’s Indian Defence. Perfect for anyone looking to improve their opening strategy, reduce mistakes, and develop a winning game plan.

Benjamin Bok won the second male-female duel of the day, as she beat the dangerous 14-year-old Chinese rising star Lu Miaoyi. In a highly exciting game in the Classical Variation of the Sicilian Defence, Bok's attack against the long-castled white king was decisive.

Vaishali Rameshbabu and Frederik Svane signed a draw, while Irina Bulmaga was defeated by Nogerbek Kazybek. Aydin Suleymanli won his Bb5 Sicilian game against Nodirbek Yakubboev. The young players Faustino Oro and Ediz Gürel each scored half a point in their games against Artur Pijpers and Thai Dan Van Nguyen, respectively.

Faustino Oro | Photo: Tata Steel Chess / Lennart Ootes

Round 5 results

Standings

All games

Links

• Official website
• Wei Yi brilliantly wins Tata Steel Masters in blitz playoff (2024)
• 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)