NEW DELHI: The third round of the Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2025 delivered its fair share of excitement as R Praggnanandhaa, playing with the white pieces against India’s No. 1, Arjun Erigaisi, emerged as the star performer of the day.
The match turned gripping when Arjun opted to capture Pragg’s queen with Qxd1 on the eighth move, prompting Pragg to respond with Rxd1. As the complexity of the game eased, Arjun managed to hold his ground against Pragg’s aggressive play. However, a misstep on his 51st move (Ne3) proved costly.
The decisive moment came on the 56th move when Arjun blundered again with Rxd3, leaving him no choice but to resign by the 60th move in what turned out to be the longest game of the round.
Having amassed consecutive wins in the 87th edition of Wijk aan Zee, Praggnanandhaa now leads the table with a commendable score of 2.5/3.
With India’s representation at the tournament hitting a historic high as five players compete in this prestigious event hosted in the Netherlands, facing compatriots as competitors is no longer a rarity.
While Praggnanandhaa cemented his position at the top, another Indian, Leon Luke Mendonca, bounced back after two consecutive defeats in the opening rounds. Battling illness, Leon delivered a valiant performance against veteran Pentala Harikrishna.
Despite visiting a doctor in Wijk aan Zee on Monday for his health concerns, Leon showed no signs of fatigue on the chessboard. The 18-year-old began aggressively, taking on an opponent nearly two decades his senior.
The balanced game reached a deadlock, culminating in a draw on the 44th move with queens still on the board. It was Leon’s first point in the tournament, a positive sign for the reigning Challengers champion. For Harikrishna, the draw signified recovery after his demoralizing defeat to Pragg on Sunday.
Elsewhere, D Gukesh settled for a quick draw against World No. 2 Fabiano Caruana, who had the white pieces. Gukesh played cautiously, manoeuvring his pawns without overcommitting. When Gukesh hinted at a draw with Be2 on the 22nd move, Caruana, slightly on the backfoot, acknowledged. Consequently, the World No. 2 confirmed a threefold repetition.
The draw, however, reflected Gukesh’s changed approach from the World Championships games (where he would never agree to draws), possibly influenced by a hectic schedule.
Having attended the AICF (All Indian Chess Federation) felicitation ceremony, received the prestigious Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award, and travelled to the Netherlands just hours before his opening-round game, Gukesh might have opted to conserve energy.
Given Caruana’s status as the tournament’s top seed, the draw seemed a sensible decision despite Gukesh holding a slight advantage at that moment in the game.
In other games, defending Masters champion Yi Wei agreed to a draw against Germany’s Vincent Keymer, who had previously delivered a crushing victory over Leon Mendonca in the opening round. Dutch No. 1 Anish Giri also secured a draw against Vladimir Fedoseev, maintaining his steady performance.
While the Masters section avoided major surprises, the Challengers section told a different story. Both Indian players, Rameshbabu Vaishali and Divya Deshmukh, suffered defeats to Kazybek Nogerbek and Aydin Suleymanli, respectively.
On the brighter side, 14-year-old Lu Miaoyi claimed her second win of the tournament, while 12-year-old Faustino Oro of Argentina earned his first victory at Wijk aan Zee, much to the delight of the spectators.
Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2025: Round 3
- Masters standings: Praggnanandhaa (2.5), Gukesh (2), Caruana (2), Keymer (2), Wei (1.5), Fedoseev (1.5), Abdusattorov (1.5), Sarana (1.5), Harikrishna (1.5), Warmerdam (1), Van Foreest (1), Giri (1), Mendonca (0.5), Erigaisi (0.5).
- Challengers standings: Lu (2.5), L’Ami (2.5), Nguyen (2.5), Suleymanli (2.0), Gurel (2.0), Bok (1.5), Nogerbek (1.5), Svane (1.5), Vaishali (1.5), Yakubboev (1.5), Oro (1.0), Deshmukh (0.5), Pijpers (0.5), Bulmaga (0).