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

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

Topics: Tata Steel Chess 2025
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