Gukesh Stays Unbeaten at Top, Praggnanandhaa Rebounds in Tata Steel Chess Round 10
D Gukesh continued his impressive undefeated run in the Tata Steel Chess Masters, securing his fifth victory in round 10 on Wednesday in Wijk aan Zee. Gukesh capitalized on an error by Max Warmerdam to clinch the win and maintain his solo lead with 7.5 points.
However, the competition remains tight heading into the final rest day. Nodirbek Abdusattorov stays half a point behind after a risky win over Alexey Sarana. R Praggnanandhaa rebounded from his previous day’s loss, defeating Vladimir Fedoseev to reclaim third place, just one point off the lead.
Playing as Black, Gukesh handled Warmerdam’s unconventional opening well. “I aimed to surprise him and create an interesting game. His 2.g3 move surprised me initially, but it likely has some merit,” Gukesh commented post-match.
Praggnanandhaa, facing fellow contender Fedoseev, was determined to bounce back after losing to Anish Giri. “I wanted a fight today, knowing Fedoseev’s aggressive style. I gave it my all,” the Indian player stated afterwards.
Abdusattorov, Gukesh’s closest rival, secured a crucial win with high-risk moves against Sarana, handing him his first loss of the tournament. Despite calling it his worst game so far, it was enough to keep Abdusattorov in contention.
The remaining games ended in draws. India’s Pentala Harikrishna drew against Fabiano Caruana, while Arjun Erigaisi and Leon Mendonca, the bottom two players, drew their respective matches against Vincent Keymer and Anish Giri.
In the Challengers section, India’s R Vaishali lost a marathon 76-move game to leader Thai Dai Van Nguyen.
Standings after Round 10:
- Dommaraju Gukesh: 7.5
- Nodirbek Abdusattorov: 7.0
- R Praggnanandhaa: 6.5
- Vladimir Fedoseev: 6.0
- Fabiano Caruana: 5.5
- Wei Yi: 5.5
- Anish Giri: 5.0
- Alexey Sarana: 5.0
- Pentala Harikrishna: 4.5
- Jordan van Foreest: 4.0
- Vincent Keymer: 4.0
- Max Warmerdam: 3.5
- Leon Luke Mendonca: 3.0
- Arjun Erigaisi: 3.0
Marcus Bellamy