NEW DELHI: The Round 8 matchup of the Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2025 between Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu and Gukesh Dommaraju on Sunday drew significant attention in Wijk aan Zee, with a large crowd gathering at the Dutch venue to witness the youngest-ever World Chess Champion face his compatriot.
Defending the black pieces, Gukesh went for the Berlin Defense in a Ruy López opening. Following Praggnanandhaa’s castling on his 6th move, Gukesh chose to move his queen. However, neither player seemed eager to push forward, instead playing a balanced game on the board.
Gukesh, who had the advantage, played a careless move (a3), giving Praggnanandhaa some industry. As the queens were exchanged, the game seemed to drift towards a deadlock. Both players made attempts to break the stalemate but were unable to find a way forward, ultimately agreeing to a draw after 33 moves.
The result did little to alter the standings at the top of the Masters leaderboard. Co-leader Nodirbek Abdusattorov also drew his game against the fiercely competitive Vladimir Fedoseev of Russia, meaning that Nodirbek, Gukesh, and Praggnanandhaa all continue to share the top spot, each with 5.5 points.
Arjun Erigaisi, still winless in the tournament, drew his game against Serbia’s Alexey Sarana. Ranked World No. 4 and India’s No. 1 entering the tournament, Arjun has seen his form’s noticeable decline, losing around 30 ELO points over the last week. He now sits in sixth place, behind Nodirbek Abdusattorov in the live world rankings.
Sarana, playing with the black pieces, faced the Queen’s Knight variation of the Queen’s Gambit Declined. Arjun took a conservative approach while Sarana pressed for an advantage.
However, Arjun held his position firm, and Sarana had no choice but to agree to a draw on the 23rd move. Given Arjun’s poor form, this draw can be considered a welcome respite, especially with a rest day on Monday allowing him the chance to reset.
Dutch No. 1 Anish Giri registered his seventh consecutive draw of the tournament, this time against India’s Pentala Harikrishna. In another 30-move game, Leon Luke Mendonca of India also drew against the Netherlands’ Jorden van Foreest.
Top seed Fabiano Caruana defeated Germany’s Vincent Keymer, claiming his second win in the 87th edition of the “Wimbledon of Chess”. Defending champion Wei Yi beat Dutchman Max Warmerdam in one of the longest games of the day (63 moves).
In the Challengers section, Vaishali Rameshbabu fought valiantly against Arthur Pijpers, with the game ending in a draw. India’s 19-year-old Divya Deshmukh, playing with the white pieces, lost to Kazakhstan’s Kazybek Nogerbek.
The 11-year-old Argentinian sensation Faustino Oro resigned against Aydin Suleymanli, while Chinese wonder Lu Miaoyi was also defeated by the sole Challengers leader, Thai Dai Van Nguyen.
Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2025: Round 8
Masters standings : Gukesh Dommaraju [5.5], Nodirbek Abdusattorov [5.5], Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu [5.5], Vladimir Fedoseev [5.0], Alexey Sarana [4.5], Wei Yi [4.5], Fabiano Caruana [4.5], Pentala Harikrishna [4.0], Anish Giri [3.5], Jorden van Foreest [3.0], Max Warmerdam [3.0], Vincent Keymer [3.0], Leon Luke Mendonca [2.5], Arjun Erigaisi [2.0]
- Challengers standings: Thai Dai van Nguyen [6.0], Erwin l’Ami [5.5], Benjamin Bok [5.0], Aydin Suleymanli [5.0], Kazybek Nogerbek [5.0], Vaishali Rameshbabu [4.5], Frederik Svane [4.5], Miaoyi Lu [4.5], Ediz Gurel [4.0], Nodirbek Yakubboev [4.0], Arthur Pijpers [3.0], Faustino Oro [2.5], Divya Deshmukh [1.5], Irina Bulmaga [1.0]
