Gukesh Dommaraju, the reigning world champion, climbed to the top of the standings at the Tata Steel Masters after defeating Pentala Harikrishna in round seven. He now shares the lead with Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu and Nodirbek Abdusattorov, with all three players unbeaten and holding identical scores with three wins and four draws as the tournament crosses its midway point.
Gukesh's victory over Harikrishna was his second win against a member of his World Championship preparation team, having beaten Vincent Keymer in round five. Both games were played with the white pieces, as was his round-one victory over Anish Giri, a game in which Gukesh survived a losing position. His next challenge will come in round 8, where he is set to face co-leader and compatriot Praggnanandhaa.
Arjun Erigaisi, meanwhile, continues to face difficulties in Wijk aan Zee. The 21-year-old lost his fourth game of the event, succumbing to Max Warmerdam after opting for a risky approach with the black pieces in the opening. The loss has caused Arjun to drop from world number three to world number six, with a 28.6-point rating loss so far. Both Gukesh and Abdusattorov have overtaken him in the live world rankings.
The third decisive result of the day came from Vladimir Fedoseev, who defeated Keymer. Fedoseev bounced back from his round-six loss to Alexey Sarana, having previously notched consecutive wins over Arjun and Fabiano Caruana. He now sits in sole fourth place, as the only player trailing the leading trio by half a point.
Vladimir Fedoseev | Photo: Tata Steel Chess / Lennart Ootes
Harikrishna worked for Gukesh as a second during his World Championship match against Ding Liren. In the match, Ding employed the French Defence more than once, much like Harikrishna in this game - it was also Harikrishna who first deviated from theory with 11...Qb6
Gukesh spent more than 14 minutes on his reply, showing that he had not prepared to face this specific line. His 12.g4, however, was a demonstration of confidence. Harikrishna quickly continued with 12...Nfe7, when engines consider that 12...Ncxd4 is a better alternative - the idea behind this capture is connected to the fact that Black might grab the knight on c3 with the rook, taking advantage of the pin along the b-file.
Still, a complex position ensued with chances for both sides. Engines preferred White in the middlegame, but Gukesh always had to deal with the weakness of his king, given his early push of the g-pawn.
Inaccuracies were made by both sides amid complications, which led to mutual time trouble. By move 28, Gukesh had 7 minutes to Harikrishna's 18, and the position was as double-edged as in the early middlegame. It was in this critical point of the game that Harikrishna faltered.
Black is temporarily a pawn down, but is also attacking the weak pawn on e3. Perhaps eager to somehow simplify the position to ease his task going forward, Harikrishna here went for the inaccurate 28...Rxc5, when 28...Rfc8 29.Re1 Kg7, consolidating, is a stronger alternative.
Gukesh correctly replied by 29.Nxc5, which was followed by the losing blunder 29...Nxe3
Now White's queen infiltrated decisively with 30.Qb7, and was joined by more attacking pieces via the forced line 30...Bg7 31.Re1 Nf5 32.Nxe6
(To prevent this infiltration, Black needed to play 29...Bxe3, capturing with the bishop instead of with the knight. In this line, 30.Qb7 can be replied by 30...Qe7, and though White is better after 31.Qxe7 Nxe7 32.Re1 Nf5, Black can still fight for a draw.)
White is now clearly winning. Gukesh had little trouble converting this position into a win, one that leaves him tied for first place with Pragg and Abdusattorov.
While Gukesh's 12.g4 against Harikrishna was a bit risky (though quite logical in that position), Arjun's 7...g5 was a full-blown provocation, which had Warmerdam thinking from the very first stages of the game.
Warmerdam spent 14 minutes before playing the correct 8.d4, and continued to handle well the strategic advantage that had been gifted by his opponent's bold opening play.
Black placed his rook on the semi-open g-file, gaining potential attacking chances, while White had the more solid structure and better coordination. Objectively, White had the upper hand, but to keep it, he needed to correctly assess when to change gears.
And Warmerdam managed - in the critical position that arose after 26...Rd8
The Dutchman found the one move that keeps White's advantage in this position: i.e. 27.Bxd5, maintaining the pressure against the pinned knight after 27...exd5 28.Qxd5 Qe7
Arjun's strategy has clearly backfired, as he is now the one against the ropes. White is clearly better with the safer king and the better coordinated army (despite being a piece down).
Warmerdam was not all that precise here, though, as his 29.Ra8, forcing simplifications, was not as strong as 29.Be3, bringing another piece to the attack. White was still better, however, and the local representative went on to get a 38-move win, his first of the event.
Arjun Erigaisi facing Max Warmerdam | Photo: Jurriaan Hoefsmit / Tata Steel Chess
Round 7 results
Thai Dai Van Nguyen caught up with Erwin l'Ami at the top of the Tata Steel Challengers standings after defeating 11-year-old Faustino Oro with the black pieces. The victory places Nguyen alongside L'Ami, while Benjamin Bok and 14-year-old Lu Miaoyi are half a point behind. Lu, who has been making waves in the tournament, claimed her third win of the event on Saturday, continuing to demonstrate her exceptional skill.
Lu defeated Divya Deshmukh with the white pieces in a sharp encounter. The Chinese teenager displayed impressive accuracy, particularly with the move 33.Qg4, prioritising an active plan over the seemingly obvious 33.Bxf6
Her next game will be against co-leader Nguyen, where she will play with the black pieces in what promises to be a key matchup.
The seventh round also saw decisive results in two other games. Frederik Svane defeated Irina Bulmaga, while Ediz Gürel prevailed against Nodirbek Yakubboev. The competitive atmosphere remains intense as players fight for a spot in next year's Masters section.
Lu Miaoyi | Photo: Tata Steel Chess / Lennart Ootes
Round 7 results
