Wijk Aan Zee (The Netherlands): Indian Grandmaster D Gukesh dropped to second spot after drawing with Alireza Firouza of France as Nodirbek Abdusattarov of Uzbekistan snatched the lead going into the penultimate round of Tata Steel Masters here. After the draw with Iranian turned French player Firouza, Gukesh has seven points for his sole second spot.
Abdusattarov defeated women's world champion Wenjun Ju of China to accumulate 7.5 points and place himself on course for his maiden triumph at the Masters. Grandmaster Vidit Gujrathi improved his chances for a podium finish with a brilliant victory over Parham Maghsoodloo of Iran. The Indian GM moved to 6.5 points and now shares the third spot with compatriot R Praggnanandhaa, Wei Yi of China and Anish Giri of Holland.
Gujrathi played probably the game of the tournament thus far. It was a Queen's gambit declined as black by Gujrathi but desperately seeking complications, Maghsoodloo went for a very sharp middle game and used up a lot of time in the process. Gujrathi showcased his calculation skills and came up with a spectacular Queen manoeuvre that sealed the game in his favour.
"I felt relieved because if I don't find that move, I think I am just worse. I was thinking for like 40-50 minutes, trying to figure out if there is something and I couldn't find anything. I thought I just have a lost position, if I don't find something right now," Gujrathi said after the game.
"So I spent the time there and this move struck me like Qe7. After that Black is better. I don't know if it's winning but he collapsed because he had very low time and then my attack was just too strong."
Gukesh was up against a Grunfeld defense against Alireza and this one too was a keenly contested game. The middle game that arose was sharp and Gukesh tried to change the equilibrium by giving up his queen for two rooks. Alireza was always in control and found a perpetual check to force a draw. Praggnanandhaa was held to a draw by Donchenko in a Queen's Gambit accepted structure. The Indian tried to make a breakthrough but Donchenko held on to his own and drew after 60 moves.
In the challengers' section, India's Leon Luke Mendonca remained in the hunt for top spot but he needs a sort of miracle. Mendonca scored a crushing victory over Mustafa Yilmaz of Turkey but French GM Marc Andria Mariuzzi maintained his full point lead on 8.5 points by defeating Liam Vrolijk of Holland. Other Indians in the fray, D Harika and Divya Deshmukh remained on four points, following defeats against A R Saleh Salem of UZE and Erwin L'Ami of Holland respectively.
Pairings Round 11 Masters (Indians unless stated): D Gukesh (7) drew with Alireza Firouza (Fra, 6); R Praggnandhaa (6.5) drew with Alezander Donchenko (Ger, 4); Parham Maghsoodloo (Iri, 4) lost to Vidit Gujrathi (6.5); Wei Yi (Chn, 6.5) beat Max Warmerdam (Ned, 4); Ding Liren (Chn, 4.5) drew with Jorrden Van Foreest (Ned, 4); Nodirbek Abdusattarov (Uzb, 7.5) beat Ju Wenjun (Chn, 4); Anish Giri (Ned, 6.5) drew with Ian Nepomniachtchi (Rus, 6).
Challengers: Marc Andria Mariuzzi (Fra, 8.5) beat Liam Vrolijk (Ned, 5); Daniel Dardha (Bel, 7) beat Eline Roebers (Ned, 2); Erwin L'Ami (Ned, 7) beat Divya Deshmukh (4); D Harika (4) lost to A R Saleh Salem (Uae, 8.5); Leon Luke Mendonca (7.5) beat Yilmaz Mustafa (Tur, 4); Stefan Beukema (Ned, 2.5) lost to Hans Moke Niemann (Usa, 6.5); Anton Korobov (Ukr, 6.) drew with Jaime Santos Latasa (Esp, 6).
