Gukesh vs Praggnanandhaa for Tata Steel chess title after night of glorious sacs, dramatic draws, and Arjun Erigaisi’s turnaround

The race for the Tata Steel chess tournament is now down to a two-horse race between Gukesh and Praggnanandhaa after a dramatic day at the prestigious event in Wijk aan Zee. All three members of India’s golden generation — Gukesh, Pragg and Arjun Erigaisi — made some glorious moves in Round 12, the penultimate day of the tournament, involving sacrifices that made jaws drop.
Gukesh was held to a draw Jorden van Foreest. It was a game where Gukesh, playing with black pieces, had refused a draw repetition, then had held an overwhelming edge, and then allowed the Dutchman the chance to claw his way back to parity on the board. In the middle of the game, he had courted severe time trouble, sacrificing his rook on move 39 (39… Rxe5) with just three seconds left on the clock, in one of the moves of the tournament.
Gukesh was the sole leader coming into the 11th round with a half a point edge over Praggnanandhaa and Nodirbek Abdusattarov. Gukesh’s draw means that both Indians are locked at 8.5 points each.
INTERACTIVE: How Gukesh was held Jorden van Foreest

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01All the moves from Gukesh vs Jorden Van Foreest1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Be7 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bf4 c6 6. e3 Bf5 7. Nge2 Nd7 8. Rc1 Ngf6 9. Ng3 Bg6 10. h4 h5 11. Be2 Qb6 12. Qd2 Ng4?! (Inaccuracy. O-O was best — 12… O-O 13. O-O a5 14. Bf3 Rfe8 15. Qe2 Qa6 16. Qd1 Qd3 17. Qxd3 Bxd3 18. Rfd1)
13. Bg5 Bd6 14. Bf4 Be7 15. Bg5 Qd8 16. f3 Ngf6 17. O-O Nh7
18. Bxe7?! (Inaccuracy. f4 was best — 18. f4 Nxg5 19. fxg5 Nb6 20. Bd3 O-O 21. Qe2 Qd7 22. Nxh5 Bxd3 23. Qxd3 Qg4(
18… Qxe7
19. f4?! (Inaccuracy. Kf2 was best — 19. Kf2 Nb6 20. b3 O-O 21. Rh1 Nf6 22. Bd1 Nc8 23. Nce2 Nd6 24. Nf4 a6)
19… Qxh4 20. Qe1 f5 21. Nxh5 Qe7 22. Bf3 Bxh5 23. Bxh5+ Kf8 24. Nd1 Nb6 25. Bg6 Qe6 26. Qb4+ Kg8 27. Bxh7+ Rxh7 28. Rf3 Re8 29. Nf2 Nc4 30. Nd3 Rh4 31. Ne5 b5 32. Qc5 Qh6 33. Kf2 Re6 34. Rxc4 dxc4 35. Qxa7 Qf6 36. Rg3 Rh1 37. Nd7 Qd8 38. Ne5 Re7
39. Qa6?? (Blunder. Qa3 was best — 39. Qa3 Re8 40. Nxc6 Qa8 41. Qd6 Qxa2 42. Rxg7+ Kh8 43. Rg8+ Rxg8 44. Qf6+ Kh7)
39… Rxe5 40. fxe5 f4 41. Rh3 fxe3+ 42. Ke2 42… Rb1?? (Blunder. Rxh3 was best)
43. Qxc6 Rxb2+ 44. Kf3 Qf8+ 45. Ke4 Rf2 46. Qe6+ Rf7?? (Blunder. Qf7 was best)
47. Rxe3?? (Blunder. Qg6 was best — 47. Qg6 Qa8+)
47… Qa8+ 48. d5 Qxa2 49. Qc8+ Rf8 50. Qe6+ Rf7 51. Qc8+

Erigaisi, who had been winless in the past 24 games at Tata Steel masters section, was not in the race for the title. But he delivered an ass for his Olympiad teammates Gukesh and Praggnanandhaa taking down Nodirbek Abdusattarov in 46 moves.
For the Uzbek GM, this is now the third time in three editions that his Tata Steel masters challenge has unravelled in the final games.
The blunder from Abdusattarov came in the 24th move when he moved his queen to e5 (24… Qg5??). In doing so, he made it possible for Erigaisi to pile on pressure on his queen and the knight stationed on h5. Erigaisi has been low on confidence all tournament, but here he did not miss. He played 25. g4, thus applying the squeeze with his pawn.
INTERACTIVE: How Arjun Erigaisi beat Nodirbek Abdusattarov

Abdusattarov found a magical move to extract his queen and the knight out of the trap. But Erigaisi held the upper hand on the board since that move. Despite a slight wobble later on, he managed to force a resignation. Story continues below this ad
Praggnanandhaa, meanwhile, took down Alexey Sarana for his third consecutive win. His win took him to 8.5 points, one full point ahead of Abdusattarov. Pragg held an advantage on the board from the 21st move after a blunder from his opponent (21… Nb5??). Pragg never let the pressure slip up from that point: at one stage a queen, a rook, a knight and a pawn from Pragg’s army were closing in on Sarana’s king who was literally in a corner on the a8 square.
INTERACTIVE: How Praggnanandhaa beat Alexey Sarana

The end of the game came with a delightful move: with a queen sacrifice from Praggnanandhaa on move 29 when he threw his most powerful piece on b7 for a sacrifice like a grenade (29. Qb7+).
Sarana immediately resigned.
The tournament now hinges on the last round, where all eyes will be on the three flagbearers of India’s golden generation. Erigaisi, having mustered some confidence from today’s win, will take on Gukesh while Pragg meets Gukesh’s world championship second, Vincent Keymer.

Amit Kamath is Assant Editor at The Indian Express and is based in Mumbai. … Read More