NEW DELHI: Playing with the black pieces on Sunday in the second round of the Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2025, D Gukesh conceded his first draw since becoming the world chess champion.
Gukesh’s opponent, Vladimir Fedoseev of Russia, began the day strongly at Wijk aan Zee, following his draw in the inaugural round on Saturday.
Inside the playing hall, amid the chilly atmosphere, Gukesh finally donned the grey hoodie he had been carrying throughout many tournaments. However, there looms a question over its necessity as the heat on the board was enough to keep the grandmasters both engaged and warm.
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After a conservative start to the game, Gukesh moved his queen to capture Fedoseev’s pawn on c5, giving the Russian an opportunity to exchange queens.
Gukesh, without hesitation, traded Fedoseev’s queen with Nxc5. With the queens off the board, Gukesh soon lost his rook on the 47th move but retaliated by capturing Fedoseev’s knight with Kxe7. With both players left with four pawns and one rook each, they ultimately reached a stalemate. The players shook hands to agree on a draw, Gukesh’s first in the 87th edition of the “Wimbledon of Chess”.
Overall, it was a day of draws, with India’s No. 1, Arjun Erigaisi, starting strong against Dutch No. 1 Anish Giri but ultimately settling for a stalemate. Both Arjun and Anish had begun their Tata Steel Masters campaigns on the back foot, suffering defeats in their respective tournament openers.
While Arjun’s defeat to Pentala Harikrishna was not as discouraging as Anish’s heavy loss to Gukesh, Sunday’s draw allowed both players to return to their camps—Anish, in particular, with a much happier face.
After another long game, Pentala Harikrishna resigned against R Praggnanandhaa, giving the latter the tournament’s first win and propelling him to the summit of the Challengers standings.
Despite playing with the white pieces, Pentala was unable to withstand Praggnanandhaa’s sharp and strategic play. With three pawns up, Praggnanandhaa left Pentala with no choice but to concede defeat.
Not everyone in the Indian camp had reason to celebrate, as Leon Luke Mendonca, last year’s Challengers winner, suffered another quick defeat. Facing the formidable Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Leon made a critical blunder on his 25th move with Qxd4.
Capitalising on this error with precise knight and queen manoeuvres, Nodirbek secured Mendonca’s downfall for the second consecutive day.
Looking beyond the Indian contingent, World No. 2 Fabiano Caruana secured his first win of the tournament on Sunday, defeating the Netherlands’ Jorden Van Foreest. Meanwhile, defending Masters champion Yi Wei settled for a draw against Alexey Sarana. The day’s longest game, a 66-move marathon between Vincent Keymer and Max Warmerdam, also ended in a draw.
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In the Challengers section, Divya Deshmukh, despite arriving late to the table, started the game on a strong note, putting Thai Dai Van under early pressure. However, the Czech chess grandmaster mounted a solid comeback, prompting Divya to settle for a draw, a fair outcome for the Indian player.
Divya’s compatriot, Rameshbabu Vaishali, who had secured an outstanding victory in the opening round, was forced to accept a draw against 14-year-old Miaoyi Lu of China.
Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2025: Round 2
- Masters standings: Praggnanandhaa (1.5), Gukesh (1.5), Caruana (1.5), Abdusattorov (1.5), Keymer (1.0), Wei (1.0), Fedoseev (1.0), Warmerdam (1.0), Sarana (1.0), Harikrishna (1.0), Van Foreest (0.5), Erigaisi (0.5), Giri (0.5), Mendonca (0).
- Challengers standings: Bok (1.5), Lu (1.5), Nguyen (1.5), Svane (1.5), Yakubboev (1.5), L’Ami (1.5), Vaishali (1.5), Suleymanli (1.0), Gurel (1.0), Nogerbek (0.5), Deshmukh (0.5), Pijpers (0.5), Oro (0), Bulmaga (0).
