Ten rounds were played at the Tata Steel Chess 2024 and Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Gukesh D tie for the top of the Masters event scoring 6.5 points, each.
Nodirbek Abdusattorov yesterday scored against Max Warmerdam, while Gukesh D defeated Alexander Donchenko, heading to the final free day co-leading in the tournament. They are followed by Anish Giri and Praggnanadhaa who are trailing by half a point, and the final three rounds will certainly be decisive for their final rankings.
Max Warmerdam vs Nodirbek Abdusattorov | 0-1
Nodirbek Abdusattorov gained a clear advantage out of the Accepted Queens Gambit, but it slipped away. Having two minor pieces for a Rook, Max Warmerdam had his chances to overtake the pace of the game, but the position got equalized. Nonetheless, Abdusattorov’s pieces were all around Warmerdam’s King who cracked under the time trouble with 64.Bc4?? The Uzbekistani grandmaster spotted the mistake and used his chance to score in the next few moves.
Alexander Donchenko vs Gukesh D | 0-1
Alexander Donchenko opted for a tremendously looking Kingside attack against Gukesh, but the Indian prodigy didn’t let it pass. While Donchenko went for the pawn storm, Gukesh started building the advantage which was crowned with a beautiful tactical motive 23…Rxe4!! When the dust had settled, GUkesh had two minor pieces for a Rook and clear material advantage.
Ian Nepomniachtchi vs Ding Liren | 1-0
All eyes were on the game between the 2023 World Champion Challenger Ian Nepomniachtchi and the reigning World Chess Champion Ding Liren. The brilliant game was crowned with a victory for Nepomniachtchi who defeated Ding Liren for the first time since the 10th round of the World Championship Match last year. Playing white, Nepo opted for a very sharp option in Ruy Lopez with 14.g4!? but it didn’t look like Ding Liren was surprised. Problems for black started after 31…Rb8?! when Nepomniachtchi set a beautiful net around Ding Liren’s king and the World Champion was forced to resign after a couple of moves.
Standings after 10 played rounds:
| 1 | Abdusattorov, Nodirbek | 6½/10 | 2727 |
| 2 | Gukesh | 6½/10 | 2725 |
| 3 | Giri, Anish | 6/10 | 2749 |
| 4 | Praggnanandhaa | 6/10 | 2743 |
| 5 | Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi | 5½/10 | 2742 |
| 6 | Wei Yi | 5½/10 | 2740 |
| 7 | Firouzja, Alireza | 5½/10 | 2759 |
| 8 | Nepomniachtchi, Ian | 5½/10 | 2769 |
| 9 | Maghsoodloo, Parham | 4/10 | 2740 |
| 10 | Ju Wenjun | 4/10 | 2549 |
| 11 | Ding Liren | 4/10 | 2780 |
| 12 | Warmerdam, Max | 4/10 | 2625 |
| 13 | Donchenko, Alexander | 3½/10 | 2643 |
| 14 | Van Foreest, Jorden | 3½/10 | 2682 |
The event continues tomorrow with the Round 11 (January 26, 2024) starting at 14:00 CET and the pairings are:
- Gukesh D vs Alireza Firouzja
- Praggnanandhaa vs Alexander Donchenko
- Parham Maghsoodloo vs Vidit Santosh Gujrathi
- Nodirbek Abdusattorov vs Ju Wenjun
- Wei Yi vs Max Warmerdam
- Ding Liren vs Jorden Van Foreest
- Anish Giri vs Ian Nepomniachtchi
Live games with computer analysis can be found here, and the live video broadcast will be available on the following link.
Photos by Tata Steel Chess/ Jurriaan Hoefsmit
