Tata Steel Chess: Indians rule as Gukesh, Praggnanandhaa share lead in Masters standings; Arjun registers first win

World chess champion D Gukesh continues to lead the standings of the Masters category at the 2025 Tata Steel Chess tournament in Wijk aan Zee, Netherlands, after playing out a draw on Saturday. In the round 12 games, Gukesh played out a draw against Jorden van Foreest whereas R Praggnanandhaa, Gukesh’s nearest competitor won his third game in a row as he defeated Alexey Sarana.

Arjun Erigaisi, meanwhile, ended his winless run in the tournament after he defeated Nodirbek Abdusattorov. Praggnanandhaa currently shares the lead with Gukesh in the Masters standings, with both Indians having won 8.5 points so far heading to round 13. Abdusattorov is in third place with 7.5 points.

Saturday’s outcomes mean the Masters competition is now a two-horse race between Gukesh and Praggnanandhaa, although Nodirbek has an outside chance at reaching the playoffs if both the Indians lose their next round of games.

Gukesh secures draw in difficult game

Against Jorden, Gukesh was in a winning position at one stage but eventually slipped up to settle for a draw. Gukesh played against the setup of Queen’s Gambit when he took on Jorden van Foreest. Gukesh was initially on the back foot as he misplaced his knight and bishop, but found his way back through an excellent use of the queen.

However, in the 46th move, Gukesh played Rf7 move, which was not the best move according to the engine. The engine suggested that Qf7 was the best move for the 18-year-old. Jorden’s rook took out one of Gukesh’s pawns in move 47, but according to the engine, the Dutchman should have played Qg6. Only a few moves later, Gukesh agreed to a draw against Jorden.

In other games, Leon Luke Mendonca drew against Fabiano Caruana whereas Pentala Harikrishna also drew against Vincent Keymer. In the Challengers’ section, R Vaishali lost to Tukey’s Ediz Gurel, whereas Divya Deshmukh went down to Netherlands’ Benjamin Bok.

Tata Steel Chess standings after Round 12

Masters: Praggnanandhaa (8.5), Gukesh D (8.5), Nodirbek Abdusattorov (7.5), Vladimir Fedoseev (7.0), Anish Giri (6.5), Wei Yi (6.5), Fabiano Caruana (6.0), Pentala Harikrishna (6.0), Alexey Sarana (5.0), Jorden van Foreest (5.0), Vincent Keymer (5.0), Arjun Erigaisi (4.5), Leon Luke Mendonca (4.5), Max Warmerdam (3.5).

Challengers: Aydin Suleymanli (8.5), Erwin l’Ami (8.5), Thai Dai Van Nguyen (8.5), Benjamin Bok (8.0), Nodirbek Yakubboev (7.0), Frederik Svane (7.0), Ediz Gurel (7.0), Kazybek Nogerbek (6.5), Lu Miaoyi (5.5), Arthur Pijpers (5.0), Vaishali Rameshbabu (5.0), Faustino Oro (3.5), Divya Deshmukh (3.0), Irina Bulmaga (1.0).