Tata Steel Chess: Sindarov beats Erigaisi, joins Abdusattorov in the lead

Sindarov and Abdusattorov co-leaders, Niemann joins chasing pack

With only two rounds remaining, the struggle for overall victory in the Tata Steel Masters remains completely open. After round eleven, the two Uzbek representatives, Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Javokhir Sindarov, are tied for first place on 7 points. Half a point behind stands a group of three: Matthias Bluebaum, Jorden van Foreest and now also Hans Niemann. Vincent Keymer, a further half point back, still has an outside chance of winning the tournament.

Sindarov joined his compatriot in the lead by defeating Arjun Erigaisi with the black pieces. The game arose from a tension-filled Semi-Slav and required sustained accuracy. Sindarov handled the complications confidently and remains the only player in either section who has not lost a game after eleven rounds.

A powerful 1.e4 Repertoire

Instead of forcing you to memorise endless lines, Raja focuses on clear plans, typical ideas, and attacking motifs that you can apply in your own games without delay. A short, focused, and practical repertoire.
Grandmaster Harshit Raja, India’s 69th GM, has created a practical and powerful 1.e4 repertoire - perfect for players who want to play aggressively without drowning in opening theory. Whether you’re playing online or over-the-board, this course gives you solid attacking weapons that are easy to learn, fun to play, and difficult for opponents to face.
Free sample video: Introduction
Free sample video: Scandinavian Defence

Two further wins with black directly affected the race behind the leaders. Niemann beat Thai Dai Van Nguyen in a wild struggle. Nguyen at one point held a favourable position but failed to make the most of his chances, after which the initiative swung decisively in Niemann's favour. Keymer, on his part, scored a full point by defeating defending champion Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu. Pragg opted for an early sacrificial attack, but the idea did not stand up to precise defence, and Keymer gradually took over.

Hans Niemann

Very much in the fight for tournament victory after winning on Friday - Hans Niemann | Photo: Tata Steel Chess / Lennart Ootes

The decisive game that had the least direct impact on the very top of the standings was arguably the most theoretically interesting. Anish Giri defeated Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus in 32 moves in a heavily analysed line of the Queen's Gambit Declined. Giri thus bounced back from his loss to Bluebaum in the previous round and returned to a fifty-percent score. Erdogmus, who had been in shared second place only a few rounds earlier, now also stands on an even score after two consecutive losses. Even so, the 14-year-old continues to show he can compete on equal terms with elite opposition.

Three games ended in draws. The most noteworthy was the all-Indian clash between Gukesh Dommaraju and Aravindh Chithambaram, in which the world champion missed several chances to press for a win.

In Saturday's penultimate round, both Abdusattorov and Sindarov will have the white pieces, against Bluebaum and Praggnanandhaa respectively.

Gukesh Dommaraju

Reigning world champion Gukesh Dommaraju came from playing six decisive games in a row (three wins and three losses) | Photo: Tata Steel Chess / Lennart Ootes

Round 11 results

Erigaisi 0-1 Sindarov

King’s Indian – A Complete Repertoire for Black Part 1 & 2

GM Blohberger presents a complete two-part repertoire for Black: practical, clear, and flexible – instead of endless theory, you’ll get straightforward concepts and strategies that are easy to learn and apply.
The King’s Indian Defence has been one of the most dynamic and popular responses to 1.d4 for decades. Legends such as Garry Kasparov, Bobby Fischer, and Hikaru Nakamura have employed it at the highest level – and it continues to fascinate today, as it offers Black not only solidity but also rich attacking and counterattacking opportunities. Its special advantage: the King’s Indian is a universal system, equally effective against 1.d4, 1.c4, and 1.Nf3. Grandmaster Felix Blohberger, multiple Austrian Champion and experienced second, presents a complete two-part repertoire for Black. His approach: practical, clear, and flexible – instead of endless theory, you’ll get straightforward concepts and strategies that are easy to learn and apply.
Free video sample: Introduction
Free video sample: London System

Javokhir Sindarov, Arjun Erigaisi

Javokhir Sindarov looking at the position after 33...Qa5 from afar - Arjun Erigaisi would falter here with 34.Rd1?, when 34.Re4 was the way to go | Photo: Tata Steel Chess / Lennart Ootes

Giri 1-0 Erdogmus

Anish Giri

The ever-charismatic Anish Giri | Photo: Tata Steel Chess / Lennart Ootes

Praggnanandhaa 0-1 Keymer

Understanding Middlegame Strategy Vol 13: Reversed Colour Systems – Grünfeld & Dutch

In this video course, Grandmaster Ivan Sokolov explores the fascinating world of Dutch and Grünfelkd structures with colours reversed.
In this video course, Grandmaster Ivan Sokolov explores one of the most intriguing and under-examined areas of modern chess: reversed opening systems, focusing on the Reversed Grünfeld and the Reversed Dutch. At first glance, these two systems seem unrelated. However, they share a common strategic challenge: the value of tempi, structure, and psychology when familiar openings are played with colours reversed. Drawing on his long professional experience, Sokolov explains why these positions are far more subtle than they appear and why traditional engine evaluations often fail to capture their true complexity.
Free sample video: Introduction
Free sample video: Larsen’s b4 Plan vs Reversed Stonewall Setups: Larsen - Spassky

Vincent Keymer

Notably, Vincent Keymer has collected five wins, four losses and two losses so far in the event | Photo: Tata Steel Chess / Lennart Ootes

Standings after round 11

All games

Woodward climbs to sole first place, as Ivanchuk takes down Suleymanli

In the Challengers section, a striking pattern continued for a second consecutive round: Vasyl Ivanchuk defeated the player who had begun the day as sole leader, while that player's closest rival won to take over first place. After beating Andy Woodward in round ten, Ivanchuk now overcame Aydin Suleymanli. This result allowed Woodward, who defeated Marc'Andria Maurizzi, to move into sole first place.

Ivanchuk has now won five of his last six games and shares second place with Suleymanli, half a point behind Woodward. Maurizzi stands alone in fourth place, another half point back, meaning four players remain realistically in contention for tournament victory as the weekend approaches.

Vasyl Ivanchuk

Vasyl Ivanchuk thinking hard during the game...

Vasyl Ivanchuk

...and sharing his thoughts after scoring his fifth win in six games | Photos: Tata Steel Chess / Lennart Ootes

A Supergrandmaster's Guide to Openings Vol.1 & 2

This video course includes GM Anish Giri's deep insights and IM Sagar Shah's pertinent questions to the super GM. In Vol.1 all the openings after 1.e4 are covered.

Ivanchuk, playing the Sicilian Defence against Suleymanli, made the most of his opportunities once the Azerbaijani overextended and erred tactically in a sharp middlegame. In Woodward's game, Maurizzi went all-in for an attack that did not hold up tactically. After incorrectly sacrificing a rook on h2, the French grandmaster soon had to resign.

Two further decisive games were seen on Friday. Faustino Oro defeated Daniil Yuffa and moved to a plus-one score, while Carissa Yip beat Eline Roebers, also reaching plus one. Yip now requires 1½ points from her final two games to secure her third GM norm.

Carissa Yip

Carissa Yip might return from Wijk aan Zee with her third and final GM norm | Photo: Tata Steel Chess / Lennart Ootes