World champion D Gukesh took the lead at the Tata Steel Masters, overtaking world champion runner-up P Harikrishna in the seventh round.
The victory marked Gukesh’s third place in the championship, making him his first-ever winner. He now shares the lead with fellow Indian R. Praggnanandhaa and Uzbekistan’s Nodirbek Abdusattorov, with five points each.
However, Praggnanandhaa was unable to break down Jorden Van Foreest’s defence, and Anish Giri played his sixth game in a row, this time against Abdusattorov.
Meanwhile, local hopeful Max Warmerdam compounded Arjun Erigaisi’s troubles by handing his fourth over to the Indian. Erigaisi, who entered the second seed with a rating of 2801, just behind Fabiano Caruana of the United States, suffered a major setback. He lost approximately 28 rating points and dropped to sixth in the field standings.
Another Indian competitor, Leon Luke Mendonca, seemed to be finding his rhythm and coming out on top, with China’s defending champion Wei Yi attracting him. However, the young Indian master still faces a major challenge in the remaining six rounds.
Vladimir Fedoseev returned to compete for top honors, defeating Germany’s Vincent Keymer. The Russian-turned-Slovenian now has 4.5 points and is in fourth place, just ahead of his former compatriot Alexey Sarana, who now represents Serbia.
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Harikrishna’s was 3.5 points respectively and tied for sixth place with Caruana and Wei Yi. Mendonca has two points and is half ahead of Arjun as they occupy the last two spots of the 14-goal, round-of-13 tournament.
Gukesh faced Harikrishna’s French defense, which he studied extensively during his world championship match against China’s Ding Liren. The early changes introduced a certain volatility to the position, allowing Gukesh to cause major problems for Harikrishna. Eventually, Gukesh deftly restrained the black shards and marched his king to a famous victory.
Praggnanandhaa found some early tactical opportunities in black against Forest. However, they are only sure to draw in the anti-colored Bishop end game. Meanwhile, Abdusattorov maintained a balanced position against Giri.
In the Challengers section, R Vaishali drew Benjamin Bok from Netherlands while Divya Deshmukh suffered yet another defeat, this time at the hands of China’s Miaoyi Lu. Czech Republic’s Nguyen Thai Dai Van and Dutch master Erwin L’Ami each have five points in this section. Bok and Miaoyi Lu scored 4.5 points, while Vaishali scored four points, ranking fifth respectively.
result:
master:
D Gukesh (Ind, 5) beat P Harikrishna (3.5); Luke Mendenka (Ind, 1.5); Erigaisi (Ind, 1.5) beat; Fabiano Caruana (USA, 3.5) beat Alexey Sarana (SRB, 3.5) ; Ned, 2.5). Vladimir Fudocesev (Slot, 4.5) defeated Vincent Keymer (Word, 3); Abdusattorov Anish Giri (Ned, 3);
Challenger:
Frederik Svane (Ger, 3.5) defeated Irina Bulmaga (ROM, 1); R Vaishaali (Indy, 4) drew with Benjamin Bok (Ned, 4); Nogerbek Kazybek (Kaz, 4) with Arthur Pijpers (Ned, 2.5) drew together; Miaoyi Lu (Chn, 4.5) defeated Divya Deshmukh (Ind, 1.5); Faustino Oo (Arg, 2.5) lost to Nutuyen Thai Dai Van (Cze, 5); Erwin L’Ami (Ned, 5) drew with Aydin Soleymanli (Aze, 3); Ediz Gurel (Tur, 3.5). Defeated Nodirbek Yakubboev (UZB, 3).
