NEW DELHI: In a gruelling 72-move battle, the longest game of Round 5 in the Masters section, D Gukesh had the last laugh as he got back to winning ways in the Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2025 in Wijk aan Zee on Wednesday.
Playing against Vincent Keymer, a member of the team he assembled during his preparation for the World Chess Championship, Gukesh, donning the familiar grey hoddie, reflected glitter of a true world champion on Dutch soil.
Playing with white pieces, the Chennai-born grandmaster made a couple of errors here and there, giving the German GM a chance to make a comeback. However, Keymer’s persistence eventually gave way under Gukesh’s superior game-reading skills.
Under time pressure, Keymer finally resigned, giving Gukesh his second win of the tournament and his first after three consecutive draws.
Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa continued his solid run, securing a draw against Max Warmerdam. Their encounter began with the French Defence, with both players castling early on the 7th move. The game seemed evenly balanced from the start.
Praggnanandhaa, wielding the black pieces, pressed aggressively, testing Warmerdam’s defensive skills.
Despite the pressure, the Dutch GM held firm, and the game ended in a draw after 39 moves when neither side could find a breakthrough.
For Praggnanandhaa, it was his second draw of the tournament
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A stalemate also marked the faceoff between Arjun Erigaisi and Leon Luke Mendonca — two players struggling to find their best form in the tournament.
Last year’s Challengers winner, Mendonca gained an early edge in the Blumenfeld Countergambit with the Spielmann Variation, but a critical misstep on the 18th move cost him a chance to press for a win.
His best chance, Nxd4, which captured Arjun’s black knight for his white knight, was a pivotal moment in the match. But India No.1 navigated the situation cleverly to force a threefold repetition, ending the match within 30 moves. Both players were left ruing missed opportunities but added half a point to their tally.
Pentala Harikrishna and Wei Yi also shared points in a brief encounter. Playing a French Defence (Steinitz Variation), the defending Masters champion Wei tried to gain an early edge but couldn’t break through Harikrishna’s solid play. But the game concluded in a draw after just 22 moves.
Vladimir Fedoseev secured a dominant win over World No. 2 Fabiano Caruana. Meanwhile, one-time Tata Steel Masters winner Jorden van Foreest suffered a loss to Uzbek talent Nodirbek Abdusattorov, the leader in the Masters standings along with Pragg at the end of fifth round.
Dutch No. 1 Anish Giri managed to hold Alexey Sarana to a draw, keeping his hopes alive.
In the Challengers section, Divya Deshmukh suffered a defeat against the formidable Erwin l’Ami, while Vaishali Rameshbabu held Frederik Svane to a draw, marking her second draw of the tournament. In another game, 15-year-old Lu Miaoyi suffered her first loss of the tournament, losing to Dutch GM Benjamin Bok. Ediz Gurel and Thai Dai Van Nguyen agreed to a draw after a tiring 119-move encounter.
Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2025: Round 5
- Masters standings: Praggnanandhaa (4/5), Abdusattorov (4/5), Gukesh (3.5/5), Fedoseev (3.5/5), Harikrishna (3/5), Wei Yi (2.5/5), Caruana (2.5/5), Sarana (2.5/5), Keymer (2.5/5), Giri (2/5), Warmerdam (1.5/5), van Foreest (1.5/5), Mendonca (1/5), Erigaisi (1/5)
- Challengers standings: l’Ami (4/5), Benjamin (3/5), Thai Dai van (3/5), Miaoyi (3/5), Vaishali (3/5), Nogerbek (3/5), Svane (2.5/5), Suleymanli (2.5/5), Nodirbek Yakubboev (2.5/5), Gurel (2.5/5), Deshmukh (1.5/5), Pijpers (1.5/5), Oro (1.5/5), Bulmaga (0.5/5)