New Delhi: The current World Champion, D Gukesh showcased his brilliant form on the board in round 7 of the Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2025 with a victory against fellow compatriot Penthala Harikrishna on Saturday. It was his third win in the event which put him on course for his maiden title.
He now shares the lead with Uzbekistan’s Nodirbek Abdusattorov and R Praggnanandhaa on five points. Praggnanandhaa failed to break the defenses of former Tata Steel world champion Jorden van Foreest while Anish Giri drew his sixth game on the trot with Abdusattorov. Max Warmerdam defeated Arjun Erigaisi and handed the Indian his fourth defeat in the tournament.
The second seed started the tournament on 2801 and was just behind USA’s Fabiano Caruana but after the defeat, Arjun lost 28 rating points and dropped to the sixth position in live rating. The other Indian in the tournament, Leon Luke Mendonca is also getting in the groove as he drew the game against defending Champion Wei Yi. But, he needs to do a lot of hard work in the remaining six rounds.
Vladimir Fedoseev made a comeback for the top honours after beating Germany’s Vincent Keymer. The Russian-turned-Slovenian is in the fourth position with 4.5 points and is just ahead of Alexey Sarana. Harikrishna is sharing the sixth position with Caruana on 3.5 points while Mendonca and Arjun hold the last two positions in the tournament.
The reigning world champion D Gukesh faced the French defense by Harikrishna, an opening Gukesh had studied during the World Championship match against China’s Ding Liren. He opted for the advanced variation and Gukesh created problems for Harikrishna. Gukesh tied down black pieces and secured a remarkable victory with his king.
R. Vaishali drew her game in Challengers section
In the Challengers section, R. Vaishali drew her game against Holland’s Benjamin Bok, while Divya Deshmukh suffered another defeat against China’s Miaoyi Lu. Czech player Nguyen Thai Dai Van and Dutchman Erwin L’Ami share the lead in this section with five points each. Bok and Miaoyi Lu have 4.5 points each, while Vaishali shares the fifth position with four points.
World Champion D Gukesh takes the top spot in the Masters’ points standings after his victory against Pentala Harikrishna. Other Sports Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
