Tata Metal Chess 2025: D Gukesh tightens lead on the high; R Praggnanandhaa again to successful methods | Chess Information

Gukesh Dommaraju (Tata Metal Chess Event Photograph)

NEW DELHI: Following probably the most extremely anticipated clashes of Spherical 10, India’s Gukesh Dommaraju maintained his lead on the high of the Masters leaderboard on the 2025 Tata Metal Chess Event, defeating Dutchman Max Warmerdam on his house soil in Wijk aan Zee on Wednesday.
Defending with the black items, Gukesh responded to the King’s Pawn Opening with an out-of-the-box Pirc Protection. Exhibiting early aggression, the youngest-ever World Chess Champion captured Warmerdam’s first piece, the Queen’s Pawn, with Cxd4.
With the Chennai-born grandmaster sustaining his aggressive stance, continued strain from his items finally provoked a blunder from the 24-year-old Dutchman.
As Gukesh captured Warmerdam’s rook with Qxc8 on transfer 27, Warmerdam, in a determined try to assault Gukesh’s queen, performed Rc1.

The benefit was now totally in Gukesh’s arms, and he capitalised instantly, enjoying Nxg3 on transfer 30. With no escape from the mounting strain, Warmerdam resigned, sealing Gukesh’s second consecutive win within the 87th version of the “Wimbledon of Chess”.
The sport between Slovenia’s Vladimir Fedoseev and Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu was one other thriller. One of many event’s most formidable, in-form gamers, Fedoseev had already defeated Arjun Erigaisi, Fabiano Caruana, Vincent Keymer, and Pentala Harikrishna, struggling just one loss — to Alexey Sarana — earlier than going through Praggnanandhaa on this Spherical 10 matchup.
An unconventional Tarrasch Protection with the Two Knights Variation noticed Fedoseev, defending with black, deploy his items in an early offensive.

Nonetheless, as he focused on stacking up his items on the left facet of the board, Praggnanandhaa remained composed, refraining from an overzealous push and guaranteeing he retained the higher hand.
With the queens traded off by transfer 36, Praggnanandhaa delivered a decisive rook test earlier than efficiently selling his d8 pawn to a queen.
With that, the sport was successfully over, giving the Indian grandmaster a much-needed victory after his crushing defeat to Dutch No. 1 Anish Giri on Tuesday.
Elsewhere, Arjun Erigaisi mounted a restoration with a much-needed draw towards Germany’s Vincent Keymer, whereas final 12 months’s Challengers winner, Leon Luke Mendonca, held off Giri in a 30-move battle.
In the meantime, Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Gukesh’s closest rival within the standings, secured an important win over Alexey Sarana with the white items. Pentala Harikrishna and Fabiano Caruana, after a gruelling 68-move duel, agreed to a draw.
ALSO SEE: Tata Metal Chess 2025 Schedule
Within the Challengers part, it was a tricky day for the Indian contingent as Vaishali Rameshbabu and Divya Deshmukh each suffered defeats, shedding to table-topper Thai Dai Van Nguyen and Frederik Svane, respectively.
39-year-old Erwin l’Ami edged previous 11-year-old Argentine sensation Faustino Oro in a hard-fought sport, whereas China’s 14-year-old Lu Miaoyi performed to a draw towards Türkiye’s formidable Ediz Gurel.

Tata Metal Chess Event 2025: Spherical 10

ALSO READ: India to host FIDE Chess World Cup 2025; Arjuna Awardee ‘stunned’ on the transfer