Tata Steel Masters 2026: Abdusattorov sole leader, all Indians held to draws in penultimate round
Nodirbek Abdusattorov took sole lead heading into the final round of Tata Steel Masters 2026 while all four Indians were held to draws in Wijk Aan Zee, Netherlands, on Saturday.
Uzbekistan’s Abdusattorov defeated Germany’s Matthias Bluebaum to move to eight points after 12 rounds in the 14-player event. Javokhir Sindarov, Abdusattorov’s compatriot and FIDE World Cup winner, was half a point behind in second place after a draw against R. Praggnanandhaa, the defending champion.
World champion D. Gukesh played a draw against American Hans Niemann. Arjun Erigaisi and Aravindh Chithambaram, the other Indians in the fray, also shared points with Dutchmen Jorden van Foreest and Anish Giri, respectively.
Germany’s Vincent Keymer joined Van Foreest and Niemann in third place as he defeated Czechia’s Thai Dai Van Nguyen to take his tally to seven points.
Gukesh is joint-eighth with six points, Praggnanandhaa is 11th with a score of five while Erigaisi and Aravindh are both tied for second-last spot with 4.5 score.
In the final round on Sunday, Erigaisi faces Abdusattorov, Praggnanandhaa takes on Van Foreest, Gukesh plays against Keymer, and Aravindh meets Russia’s Vladimir Fedoseev.
Published on Feb 01, 2026