Anish Giri and Eline Roebers are the new Dutch chess champions. The 29-old GM earned his fifth national title and the first since 2015, while 17-year-old Eline won her first Dutch crown.

The 2023 Dutch Championship (open), a 13-player knockout tournament and took place in Utrecht from July 2-9, just about half a year after the previous edition.

Each match consisted of two classical games, with 90 minutes for 40 moves, then 30 minutes to the end of the game, with a 30-second increment from move 1. In the case of 1-1 in the classical game, blitz tiebreaks were played.

The event attracted all the best local players, including the Dutch # 1 Anish Giri, who had skipped several championships before, Jorden van Foreest and the defending champion Erwin l’Ami (all three got a bye through to Round 2).

The two top seeds, Anish Giri and Jorden van Foreest confirmed their status as pre-event favourites and made it all the way to the final. Anish eliminated Benjamin Bok in the quarterfinals and then, in the semis, beat Max Warmerdam in the blitz tiebreaker. Jorden van Foreest knocked out Sipke Ernst and then played a nail-biter semifinal against Erwin l’Ami. The opponents exchanged blows in the classical games and the first two blitz games, with Jorden’s eventually prevailing in the fifth and drawing the sixth.

The final was a very close battle – the first four games (two classical and two rapid) were drawn, although, in game 4, Giri had a won position at some point. Anish struck in game five after outplaying his opponent with the black pieces again, but this time he was precise to the very end.

Jorden van Foreest – Anish Giri

28…Rxf3! 29. Qxf3 Rxf3 30. Kxf3 Ne5+ and Black’s queen and powerful central pawns proved superior to White’s two rooks | 0-1, 52 moves

Jorden did his best to create complications in game 6 with the black pieces, but Anish had everything under control all the way and secured a draw and the title from the position of strength.

In addition to the title, Anish Giri picked 13 FIDE Circuit points and leapfrogged Gukesh D to grab the lead in the race for a spot in the Candidates.

FIDE Circuit points awarded in 2023 Dutch Championship:

The women’s event, a double four-player round robin was dominated by the highest-rated lady in the Netherlands, Eline Roebers (2363). Eline won all her mini-matches against the competition and finished two points ahead of Anna-Maja Kazarian. Robin Duson took bronze.

Final standings women:

Photos: Harry Gielen

Official website: schaakbond.nl/

In a dramatic turn of events, Anish Giri beat Richard Rapport and leapfrogged Nodirberk Abdusattorov, who suffered a painful defeat at the hands of Jorden Van Foreest. Anish finished a half-point ahead of Nodirbek and won his home tournament for the first time in his career. Magnus Carlsen outplayed Arjun Erigaisi and tied for second place with Abdusattorov but came third due to inferior tiebreaks. Parham Maghsoodloo also ended on a high note besting Levon Aronian.  

Anish Giri – Richard Rapport 1-0

Richard Rapport essayed a rare line 6…g6 in the Sicilian Rauzer allowing White to disrupt his pawn structure. Black timely played thematic f6-f5 and nearly equalized but Giri still had a slight edge. Anish got a chance to increase his advantage with 29.Bxe6 followed by 30.h4, but after the Dutchman opted for innocuous 29.Bd5, the worst was behind Rapport. Giri tried the last push in an equal position, and surprisingly, it worked out for him. 

After 34…Kg8 (Kh8, Kh7 Kf8) Black is out of danger, but Richard chose the only self-defeating square 34…Kg6?? apparently missing 35.Rxd6! Black’s position collapsed, and he capitulated just a few moves later after 35…Kg5 36. Rd5 Qe1+ 37. Kg2 Be7 38. Rxf5+ Kh4 39. Qg3+ 1-0

Nodirbek Abdusattorov – Jorden Van Foreest 0-1

The game saw a rare line of the Sicilian Taimanov in which White traded the queens and steered into a slightly better maneuvering endgame. With 16.g5 followed by 17.f4 Nodirbek shut down Black’s g8-knight but made some positional concessions of the e5-square and potentially weak g5-pawn. White should have struck on the queenside with a2-a4 at some point, but Abdusattorov continued maneuvering instead. Later on, he planted one of his knights on f6 but then committed a serious inaccuracy by trading it for Black’s passive g8-knight. Little by little, Van Foreest got to White’s weak pawns, inflicted defeat on the leader, and helped his compatriot win the event. 

Arjun Erigaisi – Magnus Carlsen 0-1

Eager to win, Carlsen opted for the double fianchetto and got an offbeat, fresh position, which gradually transformed into King’s Indian type of structure. Erigaisi played somewhat sluggishly and allowed Magnus to grab initiative with 17…a4, but the World Champion missed this chance, and the position became equal again.

In the subsequent play, White gradually evacuated his king to the queenside while Black sacrificed a piece on g4 for two pawns and got full compensation and good practical chances. Arjun held his ground for quite a while, but after passing the time control, he lost his way, returned a piece in a wrong situation (he could have done it earlier, maintaining equality) and found himself in a hopeless position. The final portion of the game was a smooth sail for Carlsen, who won effortlessly. 

Ding Liren – Fabiano Caruana  ½–½

The opponents decided to leave the tournament behind as soon as possible in made a quick draw in the Ruy Lopez.

Praggnanandhaa R – Wesley So ½–½ 

The American played his pet Semi-Tarrasch line in which Black sacrificed a pawn for the initiative. The opponents seemed to follow their home preparation for quite a while, but when the dust settled, an equal endgame emerged on the board. White managed to win a pawn, but it did not change the evaluation of the position even by a fraction, and the opponents shook hands on move 44. 

Levon Aronian – Parham Maghsoodloo 0-1

The opponent tested a popular line of the Sicilian Najdorf in which White got an edge after Black wasted a couple of tempi with Nf6-e8-f6. In the following maneuvering Levon played somewhat hesitantly and let his opponent make the thematic exchange sacrifice on c3. Black got some compensation but hardly more. However, just a few moves later, Levon miscalculated and played 26.c3? hoping to regain the pawn after 26…dxc3 later on. It was not the case, though, as Parham clung to this pawn, which eventually cost White an exchange. Soon it came down to a queen endgame where Black’s a-pawn freely advanced to a2, forcing Aronian to capitulate. 

Vincent Keymer – Gukesh D  ½–½ 

The Indian mixed up two plans in the Nimzo-Indian, and the German immediately grabbed the initiative by striking in the center. However, to keep the ball rolling, Keymer had to find a quite unorthodox move 15.Qb3! allowing Black to ruin his pawn structure on the kingside. Vincent did not, and the opponents quickly traded most of the pieces and sealed the piece in a dead-equal position. 

Final standings: 1. Anish Giri – 8.5; 2. Nodirbek Abdusattorov – 8; Magnus Carlsen – 8; 4. Wesley So – 7.5; 5. Fabiano Caruana – 7; 6. Parham Maghsoodloo – 7; 7. Levon Aronian – 6.5; 8. Richard Rapport – 6.5; 9. Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa – 6; 10. Jorden Van Foreest – 6; 11. Ding Liren 5.5; 12. Gukesh D – 5.5; 13. Vincent Keymer – 5; 14. Arjun Erigaisi – 4.

Alexander Donchenko (pictured above, right) emerged as the winner of the Tata Steel Challengers after beating Velimir Ivic in the final round. The champion scored 10/13, finished a point clear of Mustafa Yilmaz and punched his ticket to the next year Tata Steel Masters next year. Stefan Beukema won the Amateur section and qualified for the Challengers next year.

Official website: tatasteelchess.com

Photos:  tatasteelchess.com, Jurriaan Hoefsmit and Lennart Ootes

Nodirbek Abdusattorov preserved his half-point lead over Anish Giri heading into the final round of Tata Steel Masters. Richard Rapport and Parham Maghsoodloo beat Ding Liren and Arjun Erigaisi, respectively, but these results did not affect the standings on the top. 

Wesley So – Nodirbek Abdusattorov ½–½

The American GM went for an early queen exchange in the Queen’s Gambit Accepted but did not achieve even a slight advantage. Moreover, after Nodirbek sacrificed a pawn, Wesley had to demonstrate accuracy in defence to reach a draw. 

Jorden Van Foreest – Anish Giri ½–½

Van Foreest introduced another novelty, this time on the white side of the Ragozin Defence (8.h4) and then, following his preparation, sacrificed an exchange. Playing on his own, Giri maintained the balance up to move 26, when he gave his compatriot a chance to get a decisive advantage.

After 26. Rc1 Na4 27. Qe4 cxd4 28. Nxf7 Rf6 29. Qe5 R6xf7 30. 30. h6 White dominates, but Jorden opted for 26. dxc5 and emerged better but with no straight win in sight.  

Just a few moves down the road, White had another chance 29.Nxf7 followed by the quiet move 30.Kh2! but it was really hard to find for a human being. 

As played, Black managed to exchange the queens liquidating into an endgame with an extra exchange for which White had more than sufficient compensation. Van Foreest pushed to the very end, but Giri demonstrated great accuracy in defence and sealed a draw on move 79. 

Magnus Carlsen – Praggnanandhaa R ½–½

The Indian youngster opted for a rare 9…g6 continuation in the Queen’s Gambit Accepted but found himself in an inferior position. Magnus skillfully built up pressure and on move 22, had a chance to win a pawn but missed this opportunity. 

After 22. Nxf7! White is clearly better, as 22…Kxf7 fails to 23. Rf3 Qd7 24. Qd3 Kf6 25. g4, but Magnus preferred 21.Rfe1 and also got an advantage, but not as big. 

Just a few moves later, the World Champion captured the b6-pawn but allowed his opponent to equalize with a series of precise moves. After very exciting complications, the opponents liquidated into a queen endgame where Praggnanandhaa defended well and scored a half-point. 

Fabiano Caruana – Vincent Keymer ½–½

In the Ruy Lopez, Keymer surprised his opponent with a new move 11…d5, immediately striking in the center. In the ensuing complications that required precise calculation White got a chance to get the upper hand with 25.Bc6, but Fabiano opted for a more natural 25.Rb1, after which Black was out of danger. The opponents shook hands right before reaching the time control. 

Gukesh D – Levon Aronian  ½–½

The game saw another Ragozin Defence in which the opponent stepped into uncharted territory early on. Levon sacrificed a pawn in a balanced position with so-called hanging pawns and transposed into a rook endgame in which he had to demonstrate accuracy. Black was doing fine for a while, correctly sacrificed another pawn to get a passer on the kingside but mistakenly advanced it too early and found himself on the brink of defeat.

After hard-to-find sequence 52. Rf1 Rb3 53. Rh1 Rh3 54. Rg1 Kxh5 55. a4 Rb3 56. Rb1 White wins, but luckily for Aronian, Gukesh opted for a natural 52.Kc4 and allowed Black to get a sufficient counterplay. 

Gukesh got another chance after Levon protected his passer from behind instead of from the side but did not seize this opportunity. In the end, White emerged two pawns up but had to settle for a draw. 

Richard Rapport – Ding Liren 1-0 

Rapport went for 4.Qxd4 on the white side of the Sicilian Defence but did not get anything from the opening. After trading the queens, the Black opened up the center and was doing OK, but closer to the time control, Ding started making inaccuracies culminating with 36…Bf3? that cost him an exchange and eventually the game. 

Parham Maghsoodloo – Arjun Erigaisi 1-0

The opponents followed a long theoretical line in the Gruenfeld Defence in which the Iranian essayed the new move 19.Qb4 instead of 19.Rxb7 played before by Sevian and Grischuk. Arjun maintained balance for a while, but his decision not to trade queens was a step in the wrong direction. The position remained equal, but Black had less room for error. After White put pressure on the f7-pawn reacted with 30…f5 that cost him an exchange. In the subsequent play both sides did not play optimally, but eventually, Maghsoodloo converted his extra material into a full point. 

Standings after Round 10: 1. Nodirbek Abdusattorov – 8; 2. Anish Giri – 7.5; 3-4. Magnus Carlsen and Wesley So – 7; 5-7. Levon Aronian, Fabiano Caruana and Richard Rapport – 6.5; 8. Parham Maghsoodloo; 9. Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa 10-12. Ding Liren, Gukesh D and Jorden Van Foreest – 5; 13. Vincent Keymer – 4.5; 14. Arjun Erigaisi – 4.

Photos:  tatasteelchess.com, Jurriaan Hoefsmit and Lennart Ootes

The situation in the leading group did not change after Roun 11, which has been the most peaceful in the Tata Steel Masters. Parham Maghsoodloo was the only player to score a victory defeating Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa with the black pieces. Nodirbek Abdusattorov is still in front with 7.5/11, a half-point ahead of Anish Giri. Magnus Carlsen and Wesley So are trailing the leader by a full point. 

Anish Giri – Nodirbek Abusattorov ½–½

It was a serious test for the leader who faced his closest rival with Black, and Nodirbek passed it confidently. In a rare line of the Queen’s Gambit Accepted, the opponents castled on opposite sides, which promised a really exciting battle, but after Anish avoided the most principled continuation 12.Ndb5 (a much safer 12.Nc2 was played) Black comfortably equalized. Soon most of the pieces were traded, and the opponents split a point in an equal knight endgame. 

Magnus Carlsen – Wesley So ½–½

The game saw a popular line of the Nimzo-Indian in which the World Champion decided to get rid of his isolated d-pawn, defusing the tension in the center.

After massive exchanges, the opponents steered into a bishop-vs-knight endgame with pawns on both wings. On paper, it favours the side with a bishop, but in practical terms, Magnus could not make much progress as Wesley defended with great accuracy. As soon as Black sacrificed his knight for White’s h-pawn, reaching a well-known position with a “wrong bishop,” a draw became inevitable. 

Levon Aronian – Fabiano Caruana ½–½

The opponents played a long theoretical line of the Tarrasch Defense in which the first original move was made very late. The ending that emerged in the game is considered to be safe for Black, despite White’s having an extra pawn. This evaluation was confirmed one more time as Fabiano had little difficulty reaching a draw. 

Praggnanandhaa R – Parham Maghsoodloo  0-1

The Indian youngster executed an original maneuver Nf3-h2-g4-e3 on the white side of the Najdorf with 6.h3 got an edge after Maghsoodloo’s questionable knight transfer from f6 to c5. However, in the first critical position of the game, Praggnanandhaa went in the wrong direction. 

The right way is 17. b4! Nca4 18. Nxa4 Nxa4 19. c4 bxc4 20. Rfc1 c3 21. Nd1 and White is clearly better, but Praggnanandhaa opted for a dubious sacrifice 17.Nf5? only to find himself in a tough situation after 17… Bxf5 18. exf5 d5 19. Bh6 Rfd8 20. Rad1 e4 21. Qg4 Nca4 22. Nxa4 Nxa4 23. fxg6 hxg6 24. f4 Qb6+ 25. Kh1 f5

Maghsoodloo built up pressure with solid and logical moves and got an overwhelming advantage by move 30. The Iranian could have won before time control, but despite missing this opportunity, he wrapped up the game with a nice trick. 

White is ready to sacrifice his bishop for the e2-pawn, followed by Rg5 and Rxf5 with a draw, but 52…Rh2+! wins on the spot 0-1

Vincent Keymer – Richard Rapport ½–½

The opponents diverged from the bitten trail very early and ended up in the King’s Indian type of position with the semi-open center in which White had some space advantage. Black was holding his ground but with 23…Nf8?! followed by returning the knight back 24…Nd7 Rapport gave his opponent a chance to get a sizable advantage. 

After 25.Nxb6! Nxb6 26. Bxa6 Rxc3 27. Bxc3 Nbd5 28. Bxf6 Nxf6 White’s queenside pawns are very dangerous, but Vincent played less precise 25.axb6 and also got an advantage but not as big. 

Just a few moves later, he allowed Black to trade two minor pieces for a rook and a pawn, reaching a balanced position with sufficient counterplay. With several precise moves Rapport managed to protect his a-passer and reached a draw. 

Ding Liren – Jorden Van Foreest ½–½

Van Foreest uncorked a novelty 10…dxc4 in a well-known line of Semi-Slav based on deep preparation with chess engines. Black’s position looked dubious, but it is probably holdable when it comes to concrete variations. Playing on his own, Ding did not manage to find the most precise moves and the opponents soon liquidated into a roughly equal endgame in which the draw was agreed by repetition. 

Arjun Erigaisi – Gukesh D

Erigaisi introduced the new move 12.Nbd2 in a popular line of Berlin Defence in Ruy Lopez but did not achieve much as Gukesh quickly equalized with several natural and strong moves. To the opponents’ credit, they battled in a balanced position to the very end and split a point only after exhausting all the reasonable options. 

Standings after Round 11: 1. Nodirbek Abdusattorov – 7.5; 2. Anish Giri – 7; 3-4. Magnus Carlsen and Wesley So – 6.5; 5-6. Levon Aronian and Fabiano Caruana – 6; 7. Richard Rapport – 5.5; 8-10. Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, Ding Liren and Parham Maghsoodloo – 5; 11-12. Gukesh D and Jorden Van Foreest – 4.5; 13-14. Arjun Erigaisi and Vincent Keymer – 4.

Photos:  tatasteelchess.com, Jurriaan Hoefsmit and Lennart Ootes

Round 9 of the Tata Steel Masters saw several quick draws and two decisive outcomes. Magnus Carlsen continues moving up in the standings after scoring his third victory in the last four rounds. The World Champion shares third position with Wesley So, trailing Anish Giri by a half-point and Nodirbek Abdusattorov by a point. Gukesh D is coming out of a slump as he prevailed over his compatriot Praggnanandhaa D. With three rounds to go, the tournament seems wide open.

Nodirbek Abdusattorov – Ding Liren ½–½ 

After surviving a scare in the previous round, the leader played it safe and had no objections to a draw. The game saw a solid line of Berlin in the Ruy Lopez in which White asked a couple of questions, but as soon Black found the right answers, a draw was agreed upon by repetition.

Parham Maghsoodloo – Magnus Carlsen 0-1

The World Champion surprised his opponent in the Queen’s Gambit Decline by introducing a new idea 7…Bg4, the move that has never been seen at the top level before. Parham reacted with 8.Qa4+ but then moved his queen to a standard square c2, while Magnus immediately struck in the center. Things got very complicated, but when the dust settled, the opponents found themselves in an endgame with an extra pawn for White but Black had sufficient compensation.

On move 22 Maghsoodloo had a chance to liquidate into a drawn rook ending, but despite a looming time trouble, he opted for a more ambitious continuation only to get into hot water just seven moves later. Magnus once again demonstrated his trademark endgame technique and scored a full point. 

Richard Rapport – Levon Aronian ½–½

The opponents made not a single original move in another version of Berlin, reproducing several drawn games (Anand – Grischuk and Carlsen – Ding Liren, to name a few). 

Wesley So – Anish Giri ½–½

The opponents followed the game Shankland – So in the Catalan up to move 15, when Giri deviated with 15…Bxc3, giving up his dark-squared bishop. It was a part of the right plan as on the next move, Anish played 16…Be4 and completely equalized. It triggered massive exchanges in the center, and the opponents soon shook hands in an even rook endgame. 

Gikesh D – Praggnanandhaa R 1-0

The opponents blitzed out their moves, following the footsteps of Anish Giri and Ian Nepomniachtchi (2020), but Black was first to deviate, striking in the center with 10…d5 (the first line of Stockfish). 

After a series of the best moves from both parts, Gukesh erred with 16.Rg2 but Praggnanandhaa did not find 16…fxe4! with a sizable advantage. Just a few moves down the road, Black offered his opponent a chance to grab the initiative, but White missed it. And then something very strange happened as Praggnanandhaa sacrificed a piece for just a pawn. White quickly consolidated, and his extra bishop became the decisive factor. 

Fabiano Caruana – Arjun Erigaisi ½–½

The opponents slowly maneuvered in one of the main lines of the Ruy Lopez, with Black confidently holding his ground. Moreover, after a couple of sluggish moves by Fabiano, Arjun emerged slightly better but reasoned that position did not offer much after all and sealed a draw by repetition. 

Jorden Van Foreest – Vincent Keymer  ½–½

White emerged slightly better in the Chigorin System of Ruy Lopez, put pressure on the d6-pawn and eventually captured it, but Black had good defensive resources. The game took an unexpected turn on move 33 when Jorden missed nice tactics by his opponent.

After 33…Bxh3! 34. Kxh3 (34. gxh3 Nf3+) Rd8! 35. g3 Qg6 Black regained a piece and equalized completely. 

Van Foreest’s trouble just started there as soon he found himself in a rook ending down a pawn. Although the position was equal, Black had some practical chances, and after White made a few inaccuracies, Keymer got the decisive advantage. However, just like a day before, Vincent failed to capitalize in a won rook endgame. This time around did not find the right setup with his king e5 and pawn on e5 and let Jorden salvage a draw. 

January 26 is the last rest day at the Tata Steel Masters. Grandmasters will return over the board on January 27 at 2 PM local time. 

Standings after Round 10: 1. Nodirbek Abdusattorov – 7; 2. Anish Giri – 6.5; 3-4. Magnus Carlsen and Wesley So – 6; 5-6. Levon Aronian and Fabiano Caruana 5.5; 7-8. Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa and Richard Rapport – 5; 9. Ding Liren – 4.5; 10-12. Gukesh D, Parham Maghsoodloo and Jorden Van Foreest – 4; 13-14. Arjun Erigaisi and Vincent Keymer 3.5.

Photos:  tatasteelchess.com, Jurriaan Hoefsmit and Lennart Ootes

In Round 9 the leader of Tata Steel Masters 2023, Nodirbek Abdusattorov, escaped with a draw vs Vincent Keymer, while Anish Giri beat Ding Liren with the black pieces to narrow the gap. Richard Rapport scored his second straight victory. All other games were drawn.

Vincent Keymer – Nodirbek Abudattorov ½–½

The leader of the event surprised his opponent with Tarrasch Defence, in which Keymer employed a rare move 8.a3, tested by his compatriot Matthias Bluebaum several times in 2022. The position was roughly equal until Black created some weaknesses in his camp with 18…f5, allowing White to gradually increase pressure without taking risks. Vincent correctly sacrificed a pawn and got a long-lasting initiative in the endgame. He eventually regained a pawn, but it was still an uphill battle for Nodirbek, who had to take care of his weak pawns.

Black’s position was gradually deteriorating and after the time control, White missed several winning continuations, although they were not that easy to find. The opponents liquidated into a rook endgame in which they continued trading errors, with the evaluation changing several times. In the final portion of the game, Vincent won a pawn and one more time came very close to a victory but chose the wrong direction for his rook.

After 80. Rf8 Rf1 81. Kg4 Rg1+ 82. Kh5 Rg3 83. Kg6 Rxf3 84. Re8+ Kd5 85. Kf5 White wins, but Keymer played 80.Rb6? allowing Abdusattorov to escape with  80… Rh1+ 81. Kg4 Rg1+ 82. Kh5 Rg3 83. Rb3 Kf5 84. Rb5+ Ke6 85. g6 Rxf3 86. g7 Rg3 87. Kh6 f3 88. Rb8 Rh3+ 89. Kg6 ½–½

Ding Liren – Anish Giri  0-1

The opponents battled in a reversed Benoni-type position that emerged from the English Opening and followed a recent blitz game played by Giri vs Fedoseev back in 2021 for a while. Anish was first to deviate with 10…e5, and soon the opponents were out of the books. Ding tried a very aggressive approach g4 followed by g5 to which Black should have reacted with a piece sacrifice, getting the upper hand.

However, Anish retreated his knight to e8 instead, and Ding obtained a much better position thanks to control over the critical d5-square. Ding, in his turn, was too slow, missing a chance to occupy the d5-square with a knight as soon as possible and then on move 28, he missed a powerful blow by his opponent.

28…Bxc4! Ding had no desire to play the position emerging after 29. bxc4 Nxc4 30. Qc3 Nxd2 31. Qxd2 Qe5 and tried to get to Black’s king at the cost of a piece a few moves later, but it did not work out for him as Anish found a nice refutation.

35…Nf3+! 36. Rxf3 Re1+ 37. Bf1 Kh8 0-1

Arjun Erigaisi – Richard Rapport  0-1

Richard introduced a very interesting idea of 11…Be4 followed by a bold 12…g5 in the Nimzo-Indian and surprisingly quickly got a won position after a series of White’s hesitant moves. By move 21, Black completely dominated, and it did not take Rapport too long to score his second victory in the event.

Parham Maghsoodloo – Wesley So  ½–½

The Iranian GM mixed up his preparation and played an early a2-a3 in the Nimzo-Indian but quickly found himself in an inferior position with doubled c-pawns. Luckily for Parham, Wesley first allowed weakening his king’s position with 13.Bxf6, then missed 22…Rc4 (22…Qc8) with overwhelming position and let the opponent escape with perpetual check.

Magnus Carlsen – Gukesh D  ½–½

The opponents followed the game Xiong – Swiercz in the Ragozin Defence for a while, but Magnus deviated with 11.e3, the move he was not happy about in a short post-game interview (it seems that 11.Qc2 played in the original game is better). Gukesh quickly equalized and confidently held his ground, reaching a draw in an endgame by move repetition.

Praggnanandhaa – Fabiano Caruana  ½–½

The American GM demonstrated excellent preparation in the Ragozin Defence and comfortably equalized after introducing a new plan with 9…Bd6. However, later in the middlegame, he allowed his opponent to exert some pressure on the a7 and c6 weaknesses. To his credit, Fabiano defended with great accuracy and sealed a draw in a rook endgame.

Levon Aronian – Jorden van Foreest  ½–½

Aronian tested the Dutch GM in an Anti-Meran type position, but as soon as Van Foreest executed a thematic c6-c5, massive exchanges followed, and the opponents split a point in a dead-equal bishop endgame.

Standings after Round 9: 1. Nodirbek Abdusattorov – 6.5; 2. Anish Giri – 6; 3. Wesley So – 5.5; 4-7. Fabiano Caruana, Levon Aronian, Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa and Magnus Carlsen – 5; 8. Richard Rapport – 4.5; 9-10. Parham Maghsoodloo and Ding Liren – 4; 11. Jorden Van Foreest – 3.5; 12-14.  Arjun Erigaisi, Vincent Keymer and Gukesh D – 3.

Photos:  tatasteelchess.com, Jurriaan Hoefsmit and Lennart Ootes

Nodirbek Abdusattorov preserved his one-point lead heading into the rest day.

It was the second high-scoring round in a row (four wins and just three draws) at Tata Steel Masters 2023, with Gukesh D, Richard Rapport and Jorden Van Foreest scoring their first victories. Magnus Carlsen improved his tournament situation after beating Fabiano Caruana with the black pieces.

Nodirbek Abdusattorov – Fabiano Caruana ½–½

The event leader essayed a new idea 9.Qe1 followed by 10.Qc3 in the Anti-Marshall of Ruy Lopez and managed to pose some problems for Black. Levon defended accurately, traded several pieces and then the queens to seal a draw in an equal endgame.

Fabiano Caruana – Magnus Carlsen  0-1

In another Anti-Marshall, the opponents followed the recent game Nguyen – Wojtaszek for quite a while, but Fabiano was first to deviate with a new move 15.Bf4. White advanced his central pawns and attacked Black’s knight, probably hoping to throw it back to h7, but Magnus had different agenda.

21…Bc6! It turns out that the knight is taboo due to 22. exf6 Rxe1+ 23. Bxe1 Rxb3. Taken aback, Fabiano immediately committed the decisive mistake 22.Bc2?? (after 22.Qd3 White is OK) and after 22… Qd5 23. Re2 Rb4 24. Kh2 Rxd4 25. Qb1 Ne4, it did not take Magnus long to finish off his opponent.

Ding Liren – Wesley So ½–½

Ding and Wesley tested the advance variation of Caro Kann in which White got an edge thanks to the pressure on Black’s week pawns. Probably 20.Nc4 instead of 20.Bc4 was a bit stronger (although even in this case, Black had sufficient defensive resources) because, as played, Wesley reached a draw without much of a hassle.

Anish Giri – Vincent Keymer  ½–½

The players followed the footsteps of Sethuraman and Yu Yangyi (2022) but Anish was first to deviate with 17. Qe2, which, according to chess engines, is not as strong as the immediate 17.b5 played by the Indian GM. Anish played b4-b5 a bit later and grabbed a pawn on the queenside.

On move 22 White had a chance to consolidate his position and achieve seizable advantage, but in order to do that, he should have retreated his pieces to the first rank. This option does not look attractive for a human player, and Anish opted for a more natural queens exchange. However, after thematic c7-c5 Black got full compensation. Apparently, Giri did not like his position as he offered a draw which Keymer had no reason to reject.

Richard Rapport – Praggnanandhaa R  1-0

Rapport renewed an old idea of advancing h-pawn in the Giuoco Piano and obtained a promising position but missed the best continuation on move 11. Praggnanandhaa, in his turn, also did not play optimally and after castling long and dislodging the opponent’s queen from c3, White got a dangerous initiative in the center and kingside. The Indian tried to evacuate his king to the queenside, but as soon as White advanced his pawn mass in the center Black’s defense collapsed. A few moves later, Praggnanandhaa parted with an exchange and got two extra pawns but found himself in a hopeless position. Rapport was merciless and scored his first victory in the event.

Jorden van Foreest – Arjun Erigaisi  1-0

The young Indian tried a relatively new idea in the King’s Indian 7…h6, but soon the position took a more or less familiar shape. In the subsequent play White, as usual pushed on the queenside, while Black put some pressure on the c4-pawn. Eventually, Jorden planted his knight to c6, and after Black did not venture upon trading it for a rook and a pawn with a solid position, the Dutchman creatively sacrificed this piece for a couple of pawns. Black still had some defensive options, but after a few inaccuracies by Erigiasi, White advanced his queenside pawns and got the day.

Gukesh D – Parham Maghsoodloo  1-0

In this see-saw game, the Iranian GM pulled out an offbeat 3…h6 in the Nimzo-Indian but ended up in a standard position where this move was just a waste of tempi. Gukesh immediately grabbed the initiative, but instead of snatching a pawn on move 16 he preferred to continue manoeuvring and allowed Parham to consolidate his position. However, the Iranian had no desire to defend passively and unleashed a highly aggressive g7-g5 only to create some extra weaknesses in his camp. White pressured the queenside but underestimated Black’s threats on the kingside, and the position became even. Moreover, in the heat of the battle Gukesh overpushed and gave Parham a chance to win the game on the spot.

Instead of 41… Nxg3+ 42. Kh2 Nf5 43. a7 Ra2 44. a8=Q Rxa8 45. Qxa8 Qf4+ 46. Kh1 Ng3+ 47. Kh2 Ne4+ 48. Kh1 Nf2# the Iranian played 41…Ra2 and just a few moves later, this dramatic game took the final U-turn.

Trying to avoid a draw by perpetual at any cost, Parham just played 42…Kg6, but missed a nice trick 43.g4! Ironically, Ng3+ winning just a few moves back fails to 44.Qxg3! Black tried 43…Ne3 but got checkmated after 44. Be4+ f5 45. Qd6+ Kf7 46. gxf5 g4 47. Qe6+ Kf8 48. Qf6+ Kg8 49. Bd5+ 1-0

Standings after Round 8: 1. Nodirbek Abdusattorov – 6; 2-3. Anish Giri and Wesley So – 5; 4-7. Levon Aronian, Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, Fabiano Caruana and Magnus Carlsen – 4.5; 8. Ding Liren – 4; 9-10. Richard Rapport and Parham Maghsoodloo – 3.5; 11-12. Arjun Erigaisi and Richard Van Foreest – 3; 13-14. Vincent Keymer and Gukesh D – 2.5.

January 23 is the second of three planned rest days at Tata Steel Masters 2023. Round 9 will start on January 24 at 2 PM local time.  

Photos:  tatasteelchess.com, Jurriaan Hoefsmit and Lennart Ootes

As many as four games ended in victories in the “bloodiest” seventh round at the Tata Steel Masters. Nodirbek Abdusattorov broke away from his closest rivals, increasing the gap to a full point, while Wesley So and Praggnanandhaa joined Anish Giri and Fabiano Caruana, tying for second place.

Arjun Erigaisi – Nodirbek Abdusattorov  0-1

After getting a slight edge in a rare line of Petrov Defence, Arjun let his guard down and allowed Nodirbek to create a dangerous counterplay based on his advanced d-passer. Just a few moves down the road, White’s activity on the kingside backfired as Black quickly transferred his queen and started probing weaknesses. To make things even worse, Erigaisi traded his h5-pawn for the opponent’s b7-pawn and fell under heavy pressure. In the final portion of the game, we saw Abusattorov at his best as, with a series of energetic blows, the Uzbek GM shattered White’s defences and scored his fourth victory in the event.

Parham Maghsoodloo – Fabiano Caruana  ½–½ 

In arguably the most exciting game in Round 7, Parham emerged slightly better in the Ragozin Defence, but his plan of f2-f3 followed by e3-e4 backfired, as Fabiano regrouped his pieces traded in the center and put some pressure on the d4-pawn. The American then sacrificed a pawn but got sufficient compensation in the form of very active pieces. He soon restored material equilibrium, but White pinned his hopes on his b-passer, although objectively, the position was in balance.

Trying to win at any cost, Parham crossed a fine line – he advanced his pawn to b7 but lost a piece along the way. Fabiano had to trade his bishop for the b-passer but snatched the h-pawn to liquidate into queen endgame with an extra pawn and White’s king misplaced.

A seven-piece tablebase evaluates the ending as won for Black, and Caruana came very close but being short on the clock, he missed a couple of winning continuations and allowed Maghsoodloo to transfer his king to back to his camp, securing a draw.

Praggnanandhaa R – Jorden van Foreest  1-0

The Dutch GM introduced a very interesting pawn sacrifice in Chebanenko Variation of Slav Defence (10…b4 followed by 11…Rb8 and 12…a5) and got some compensation, but just a few moves down the road made a grave mistake that turned his position from playable to strategically hopeless.

Instead of maintaining the tension, Black closed the center with 15…e4? The rest of the game, although it required precision from White, was one-way traffic. Slowly but surely, Praggnanandhaa traded some pieces, advanced his passer and infiltrated into Black’s camp. As soon as Black’s c6-pawn fell, Van Foreest capitulated.

Gukesh D – Wesley So  0-1

The American GM comfortably equalized in a topical line of Ruy Lopez but then first missed an interesting sacrifice (17…Bxh3) and then misplaced his knight on h5 and handed White a clear advantage. Most likely Wesley missed 20.Nh4 followed by a very strong 21.Qd1. However, Gukesh failed to capitalize and buckled under pressure.

After  22. g3 Bxh3 23. d4 White would have an overwhelming advantage. The Indian youngster missed this opportunity, and, a few moves later, blundered a pawn and quickly packed it in.

Magnus Carlsen – Richard Rapport  1-0

The World Champion deviated from the main theoretical lines of the Petrov Defence and got a fresh position with mutual chances. This approach paid off surprisingly quickly as Rapport chose the wrong version of piece sacrifice, then added another one to the fuel of his attack, only to resign on move 36.

Vincent Keymer – Ding Liren  ½–½

The German GM quickly obtained a sizable advantage in his pet line of English Opening after Ding overoptimistically played 11..Ba6 and traded the pawns in the center. Keymer increased pressure with a series of precise moves but when the time came to reap the harvest, he suddenly switched to reverse gear.

After natural 21. e5 Bxg2 22. Kxg2 Ng8 23. Rd7 White would have got an overwhelming position. Instead, Vincent started hovering around and allowed Black to greatly improve his situation.

Keymer got a new chance in the rook ending, but again, instead of the most natural and winning continuation, he played differently and let Ding get off the hook.

Levon Aronian – Anish Giri ½–½

After slow manoeuvring in a balanced position that emerged from the Italian Game a burst of activity in the center resulted in massive exchanges and a quick draw.

Standings after Round 7: 1. Nodirbek Abdusattorov – 5.5; 2-5. Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, Anish Giri, Fabiano Caruana and Wesley So – 4.5; 6. Levon Aronian – 4; 7-9. Parham Maghsoodloo, Ding Liren and Magnus Carlsen – 3.5; 10. Arjun Erigaisi – 3; 11. Richard Rapport – 2.5; 12-13. Vincent Keymer and Jorden Van Foreest – 2; 14. Gukesh – 1.5.

Photos:  tatasteelchess.com, Jurriaan Hoefsmit and Lennart Ootes