Gukesh shines at Tata Steel Chess 2025 with Marathon win

In the Masters section of the Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2025 held in Wijk aan Zee, Netherlands, World Champion Gukesh Dommaraju emerged victorious against Germany’s Vincent Keymer after an intense 72-move battle, which was the longest game of Round 5. Playing with the white pieces, the Chennai-born grandmaster showcased exceptional strategic prowess, eventually forcing Keymer to resign under time pressure. This victory marked Gukesh’s second win of the tournament and his first after three consecutive draws. 

Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa maintained his consistent form, securing a draw against Dutch GM Max Warmerdam. The game, which saw Praggnanandhaa playing with the black pieces, was evenly balanced throughout. Despite pressing aggressively, the young Indian could not break Warmerdam’s defence, and the match concluded in 39 moves. This was Praggnanandhaa’s second draw of the



tournament. After five rounds, he is tied for the top position with Uzbekistan’s Nodirbek Abdusattorov at four points apiece. 

In another all-Indian encounter, Arjun Erigaisi and Leon Luke Mendonca played out a stalemate, with both players continuing to search for their best form in the tournament. Similarly, Pentala Harikrishna shared points with Wei Yi of China in a relatively short game. 

The round witnessed a major upset when Vladimir Fedoseev delivered a commanding victory over World No. 2 Fabiano Caruana, shaking up the leaderboard. 

Today is the rest day, with the sixth round of matches scheduled for tomorrow.

The tournament features a fourteen-player, single round-robin format, consisting of 13 rounds where each player faces every other player once.