Gukesh joins Tata Steel leaders as Caruana draws in round seven

Gukesh joins the leaders

Gukesh Dommaraju defeated Pentala Harikrishna at the Tata Steel Masters in Wijk aan Zee on 25 January 2025, joining Nodirbek Abdusattorov and R Praggnanandhaa on five points after seven rounds. Fabiano Caruana drew with Alexey Sarana on a day that produced three wins and four draws.

The change can be traced through successive results. Abdusattorov and Praggnanandhaa had four points after round five, while Gukesh was half a point behind them. All three drew in round six. Gukesh then gained a full point on Saturday as the other two again shared their games, bringing their totals together.

Caruana adds another half-point

Caruana’s result followed his draw with Arjun Erigaisi on 24 January. Sarana had arrived at their meeting after the only decisive game of that sixth round, a victory over Vladimir Fedoseev. With six of the seven games drawn the previous day, Sarana alone had gained a full point. Caruana and Sarana therefore approached Saturday after different outcomes, before sharing the point in their direct encounter.

For Caruana, the two draws followed a loss to Fedoseev in round five. FIDE identified the turning point just after the time control: Caruana played 41...Bg2, allowing 42.e5. The ensuing exchanges cost him a pawn, which Fedoseev converted into victory. That earlier setback supplies the context for Caruana’s effort to rebuild his score over the following rounds.

The route back to first place

Gukesh’s advance had begun before Saturday. Against Vincent Keymer in round five, he created pressure along the d-file and won a pawn. The game eventually reached an ending with rook and bishop against rook and knight. FIDE reported that, despite inaccuracies during the conversion, Gukesh forced resignation on move 72. That win had brought him to three and a half points, within half a point of the leading pair.

His next game, against Abdusattorov, ended in a draw on 24 January. Praggnanandhaa also drew, against Wei Yi. Those results preserved the half-point gap rather than widening it. Saturday’s win over Harikrishna then supplied the additional half-point gain relative to both leaders that Gukesh needed to catch them.

Two more wins change the picture

Fedoseev defeated Keymer, while Max Warmerdam beat Arjun Erigaisi. Each of the day’s three victories came with White. Wei Yi drew with Leon Luke Mendonca, Jorden van Foreest with Praggnanandhaa, and Anish Giri with Abdusattorov. Together with Caruana–Sarana, those four draws completed the round. The distribution of results explains why the lead expanded: Gukesh gained ground while the two players already ahead of him added only half-points.

A meeting between co-leaders comes next

The next round paired Praggnanandhaa with Gukesh on 26 January, placing two of the co-leaders across the board from one another immediately after the tie formed. Abdusattorov’s opponent was Fedoseev. Caruana was paired with Keymer, while Harikrishna met Giri. The schedule thus gave the leading group a direct encounter and a separate test against one of Saturday’s winners, with another round to be played the following day.