Tata Steel Chess - Pragg takes the title in thrilling tiebreaker

by ChessBase
2/2/2025 – Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu won the 2025 Tata Steel Masters after beating world champion Gukesh Dommaraju in a blitz tiebreaker. The two Indian stars entered the final round tied for first place and, notably, both lost their classical games on Sunday. Pragg then won the blitz tiebreaker by a 2-1 score after Gukesh misplayed a knight endgame in the third encounter. Meanwhile, Czech GM Thai Dai Van Nguyen won the Challengers, as he had a better tiebreak score than Aydin Suleymanli, who finished tied for first in the single round-robin. | Replay all the games with computer-assisted analysis. Full report to follow shortly.

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Tiebreaks

Both the Masters and the Challengers are 14-player single round-robin events. The time control is 100 minutes for 40 moves, followed by 50 minutes for the remainder of the game, with a 30-second increment per move from the start.

In case of a tie for first, blitz games will decide the champion, following the rules set in the tiebreak system created in 2022. The monetary prizes will be shared evenly.

Schedule

  • Rounds 1-5: 18-22 January
  • Rest day: 23 January
  • Rounds 6-8: 24-26 January
  • Rest day: 27 January
  • Rounds 9-10: 28-29 January
  • Rest day: 30 January
  • Rounds 11-13: 31 January – 2 February

Round 13 results - Masters

Round 13 results - Challengers

Tiebreaks - Masters

Live games and commentary

Tiebreaks

Masters

Challengers

ChessBase India webcast

Commentary by IM Sagar Shah and Amruta Mokal

Official webcast

Commentary by David Howell and Jovanka Houska

Current standings - Masters

Current standings - Challengers

The Surprising Black Knights' Tango - Unleash Winning Strategies as Black!

After 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 Nc6!?, Black takes the initiative, luring White into overextending their central pawns, only to dismantle them with precise counterplay. The Tango is not just an opening – it’s a weapon, designed for players who want to win as Black

Links

<< Tata Steel Chess R12: Pragg scores third win in a row, shares the lead
Understanding before Moving 215: Judit Polgar >>
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Tata Steel Chess - Live!

1/28/2024 – The 86th edition of the Tata Steel Chess Tournament is taking place on January 13-28 in Wijk aan Zee. Both the Masters and the Challengers 1re 14-player single round-robin events. Ding Liren, the current classical world champion, is the top seed in the Masters, which also features Ju Wenjun, the women’s world champion, in the lineup. | Follow the games live with expert commentary starting at 12.00 CET (6.00 ET, 16.30 IST)
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Tata Steel Chess R11: Abdusattorov leads, Wei and Vidit score brilliant wins

1/27/2024 – A magnificent round of chess saw Nodirbek Abdusattorov beating Ju Wenjun to become the sole leader at the Tata Steel Masters in Wijk aan Zee. Standing in sole second place is Gukesh D., who failed to find a couple of tactical shots that would have granted him a full point against Alireza Firouzja. Four players are sharing third place, including Wei Yi and Vidit Gujrathi, who obtained remarkable wins on Friday. In the Challengers, Marc’Andria Maurizzi grabbed a fourth consecutive win and remains a full point ahead of Leon Luke Mendonca. | Photo: Tata Steel Chess Tournament / Jurriaan Hoefsmit
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Video

60m English New ideas in the Najdorf_E

‘New ideas in the Najdorf – a Power Play 18 Update’ aims to complement Daniel King’s popular DVD from last year ‘The Sicilian Najdorf - a repertoire for Black’. Such a dynamic and popular opening as the Najdorf is developing the whole time. On this download, Daniel King updates lines that were included on his DVD but also responds to viewers’ requests, considering lines that he omitted from his original repertoire. The lines examined on this update are: • 1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 d6 3 d4 cxd4 4 Nxd4 Nf6 5 Nc3 a6 6 h3 e5 7 Nde2 • 5….a6 6 Bc4 in combination with the English Attack (Be3, f3 etc) • 5…a6 6 Be3 and the …a5 variation • 5…a6 6 Be2 and 9 Re1 • 5 f3 (instead of 5 Nc3) It isn’t necessary to have seen the original Najdorf DVD to understand the lines examined here – but it would help as they form part of a complete repertoire.