Nodirbek Abdusattorov emerged as the sole leader of the Tata Steel Chess Masters 2024 after 11 played rounds, scoring 7.5 points.
Abdusattorov yesterday defeated Ju Wenjun, while Gukesh D drew against Alireza Firouzja to be in clear second position with 7 points. As many as four players tie for third place with 6.5 points (each): Anish Giri, Wei Yi, Praggnanandhaa and Vidit Santosh Gujrathi.
Nodirbek Abdusattorov vs Ju Wenjun | 1-0
The position was roughly equal after the Ruy Lopez opening stage, but Nodirbek had clear initiative. Ju Wenjun blundered a tactical engagement 23.Nf7! but she still had her chances to turn the tables. Instead of playing 24…Rd8 for the advantage, Ju Wenjun hurried up and went for 24…Qc6? which happened to be a crucial mistake in the game. Abdusattorov didn’t let go of the huge advantage and scored a win.
Wei Yi vs Max Warmerdam | 1-0
Wei Yi crushed Max Warmedam using a quite rare Bishops opening as white. The variation was used back in the 19th and 20th centuries on the highest level, but it seemed to be forgotten until The Butcher (Miodrag Perunovic) published a chessable course on it. Following the lines, Wei Yi sacrificed a whole Rook in the 9th move of play, and reached a completely winning position after only 19 moves of play.
Parham Maghsoodloo vs Vidit Santosh Gujrathi | 0-1
Vidit Santosh Gujrathi seemed to surprise Parham Maghsoodloo with his opening choice and forced the Iranian to play “delayed Bongcloud”. Maghsoodloo went for 14.Ke2!? and was doing okay, but cracked under the pressure with 20.Bh6?! which happened to be a mistake. Vidit took control and punished his opponent’s mistakes to score his second victory in the tournament.
Standings after 11 played rounds:
| 1 | Abdusattorov, Nodirbek | 7½/11 | 2727 |
| 2 | Gukesh | 7/11 | 2725 |
| 3 | Giri, Anish | 6½/11 | 2749 |
| 4 | Praggnanandhaa | 6½/11 | 2743 |
| 5 | Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi | 6½/11 | 2742 |
| 6 | Wei Yi | 6½/11 | 2740 |
| 7 | Nepomniachtchi, Ian | 6/11 | 2769 |
| 8 | Firouzja, Alireza | 6/11 | 2759 |
| 9 | Ding Liren | 4½/11 | 2780 |
| 10 | Warmerdam, Max | 4/11 | 2625 |
| 11 | Van Foreest, Jorden | 4/11 | 2682 |
| 12 | Maghsoodloo, Parham | 4/11 | 2740 |
| 13 | Ju Wenjun | 4/11 | 2549 |
| 14 | Donchenko, Alexander | 4/11 | 2643 |
The 12th penultimate round of the event starts today (January 27, 2024) at 14:00 CET and the pairings are:
- Alireza Firouzja vs Ian Nepomniachtchi
- Jorden Van Foreest vs Anish Giri
- Max Warmerdam vs Ding Liren
- Ju Wenjun vs Wei Yi
- Vidit Santosh Gujrathi vs Nodirbek Abdusattorov
- Alexander Donchenko vs Parham Maghsoodloo
- Gukesh D vs Praggnanandhaa
Live games with computer analysis can be followed here, and live video broadcast will be available on the following link.
Photos by Tata Steel Chess / Jurriaan Hoefsmit
