Sat Feb 01 05:45:12 UTC 2025: **Indian Chess Stars Shine at Tata Steel Masters**
Wijk aan Zee, Netherlands (February 1, 2025) – India’s chess prodigies continued their strong performance at the Tata Steel Masters chess tournament. World champion D. Gukesh maintained his lead with a draw against Wei Yi of China, while R. Praggnanandhaa scored a stunning upset victory over top seed Fabiano Caruana of the United States.
Gukesh, playing white, opted for a less common opening strategy, resulting in a draw after 30 moves. His eight points out of a possible eleven keep him in first place. Praggnanandhaa’s win, achieved through a strategic attack exploiting a crucial blunder by Caruana, catapulted him to 7.5 points, placing him within striking distance of the leader.
Other Indian players also performed well. P. Harikrishna defeated Alexey Sarana of Serbia, and Leon Luke Mendonca triumphed over Vladimir Fedoseev of Slovenia. Arjun Erigaisi drew his match.
In the penultimate round, Gukesh will face Jorden van Foreest, while Praggnanandhaa will play Sarana. The final round promises exciting matches as players vie for top positions.
In the Challengers’ section, Divya Deshmukh secured a vital win over Irina Bulmaga of Romania, while R. Vaishali suffered a loss to Aydin Suleymanli of Azerbaijan. Erwin L’Ami of the Netherlands regained the sole lead in this section.
First Piper 