Praggnanandhaa Stuns Caruana, Narrows Gap to Leader Gukesh in Tata Steel Chess Round 11

In a thrilling 11th round of the 2025 Tata Steel Chess tournament, R Praggnanandhaa scored a critical victory over world no. 4 Fabiano Caruana, bringing himself within half a point of tournament leader D Gukesh. The world champion Gukesh maintained his undefeated streak, drawing against Wei Yi and climbing to world no. 3 in live rankings. Other notable results included wins for Pentala Harikrishna and Leon Luke Mendonca, while Arjun Erigaisi settled for another draw.

Praggnanandhaa, playing with the black pieces, countered Caruana’s early aggression with active play. The game remained balanced until Caruana made a few inaccuracies in the middle game. Praggnanandhaa capitalized on a blunder by Caruana on move 32, seizing a defensive pawn with his knight after Caruana misplaced his queen. The Indian grandmaster converted his advantage, forcing Caruana’s resignation five moves later. This victory boosted Praggnanandhaa to 7.5 points, just behind Gukesh’s 8 points.

Gukesh’s match against former tournament winner Wei Yi began with an unexpected opening move, catching his opponent off-guard. A complex variation ensued, with both players spending considerable time on their moves. After several exchanges, the position simplified, leading to a draw on move 30.

Nodirbek Abdusattorov remained in contention, also half a point behind Gukesh, but missed an opportunity to win against Vincent Keymer. Abdusattorov gained a winning position but allowed Keymer back into the game with an ill-timed queen exchange, resulting in a draw.

Leon Luke Mendonca secured his first win of the tournament against Vladimir Fedoseev, while Pentala Harikrishna defeated Alexey Sarana in a patient, hard-fought game. Arjun Erigaisi’s tournament struggles continued as he drew against Jordan van Foreest after briefly being in a losing position.

Anish Giri defeated Max Warmerdam but remains out of contention for the top spot, trailing the leader by two points with only two rounds remaining.

In the Challengers section, Divya Deshmukh won with black against Irina Bulmaga, while R Vaishali’s losing streak continued against Aydin Suleymanli, dropping her to 10th place.

Standings after Round 11:

1. Dommaraju Gukesh: 8 points
2. Nodirbek Abdusattorov: 7.5 points
3. R Praggnanandhaa: 7.5 points
4. Wei Yi: 6 points
5. Anish Giri: 6 points
6. Vladimir Fedoseev: 6 points
7. Fabiano Caruana: 5.5 points
8. Pentala Harikrishna: 5.5 points
9. Alexey Sarana: 5 points
10. Vincent Keymer: 4.5 points
11. Jordan van Foreest: 4.5 points
12. Leon Luke Mendonca: 4 points
13. Arjun Erigaisi: 3.5 points
14. Max Warmerdam: 3.5 points