Round 5 of the 2025 Tata Steel Chess Masters delivered a significant shake-up at the top, tightening the race for the prestigious title. While the previous round saw one player take a slight lead, this round brought parity back amongst the frontrunners, with a key victory by the reigning World Champion closing the gap and a surprising upset adding to the drama.
Gukesh Grinds Down Former Second
Perhaps the most narratively rich game featured World Champion Dommaraju Gukesh facing Vincent Keymer. The same Vincent Keymer who served as Gukesh`s second just last month during his triumphant World Championship campaign. What a delightful twist of fate for the tournament organizers, forcing former allies into a drawn-out battle! Gukesh, needing a win to stay hot on the heels of the leaders, certainly made his intentions clear, though the conversion proved anything but swift.
The game was a monumental grind, stretching over six hours and a grueling 72 moves. Gukesh gained a material advantage early on due to an error by Keymer. Despite Keymer facing time pressure and later playing on increment, Gukesh found it challenging to land the knockout blow. However, the material advantage held, and Keymer`s subsequent inaccuracies under pressure finally allowed Gukesh to secure the full point. This victory brings Gukesh within half a point of the joint leaders, keeping his stated dream of winning Wijk aan Zee very much alive. His next opponent after the rest day? None other than joint-leader Nodirbek Abdusattorov. Get your popcorn ready.
The Leadership Shuffle
Meanwhile, the player who had held the sole lead, R Praggnanandhaa, played a remarkably quiet game against Max Warmerdam. Warmerdam, who hadn`t had the best start to the tournament, was likely quite content with a peaceful outcome. Praggnanandhaa, perhaps exercising caution, seemed to agree, and the game ended in an uneventful draw after just 40 moves. This result meant Praggnanandhaa relinquished his sole lead, being joined at the top by Nodirbek Abdusattorov.
Abdusattorov, playing with the black pieces against Jordan van Foreest, had a far more dynamic encounter. Bumping into a variation of the Caro-Kann opening from Van Foreest early on didn`t deter the Uzbek. Abdusattorov navigated a complex position, even declining a knight sacrifice before offering a rook sacrifice of his own to seize a decisive advantage. His aggressive and accurate play paid off, securing a win in 47 moves and propelling him into a shared lead with Praggnanandhaa on 4 points.
Upset of the Round
Adding another layer of intrigue, Vladimir Fedoseev delivered the round`s biggest upset, defeating the highly-rated Fabiano Caruana. This unexpected result saw Fedoseev move level with Gukesh on 3.5 points, joining the chase pack and proving that nobody is safe in this tournament.
Other games saw Arjun Erigaisi stem his losing streak with a draw against Leon Luke Mendonca, though both remain at the bottom of the standings. Pentala Harikrishna also took an early draw against Wei Yi in a less thrilling affair. Anish Giri and Alexey Sarana also split the point.
Standings Snapshot (After Round 5)
- R Praggnanandhaa: 4 points
- Nodirbek Abdusattorov: 4 points
- Dommaraju Gukesh: 3.5 points
- Vladimir Fedoseev: 3.5 points
- Pentala Harikrishna: 3 points
- Fabiano Caruana: 2.5 points
- Vincent Keymer: 2.5 points
- Wei Yi: 2.5 points
- Alexey Sarana: 2.5 points
- Anish Giri: 2 points
- Jordan van Foreest: 1.5 points
- Max Warmerdam: 1.5 points
- Leon Luke Mendonca: 1 point
- Arjun Erigaisi: 1 point
As the players head into the rest day, the battle for the Tata Steel title is wide open. With the leaders tied and strong contenders breathing down their necks, the second half promises even more intensity.
Finley Holt