Tata Steel Chess: Abdusattorov beats Pragg, Fedoseev takes down Keymer

Abdusattorov joins Niemann and Erigaisi in the lead with 1½/2

Round two of the Tata Steel Masters marked a clear shift in tone compared to the turbulent opening day. After Saturday’s round had been shaped by organisational disruption, early tactical oversights and severe time trouble, Sunday saw the tournament settle into a more conventional grandmaster rhythm.

Five of the seven games ended in draws, and only two decisive results were recorded, both scored with the white pieces.

Round 2 results

Time to focus – Anish Giri | Photo: Tata Steel Chess / Lennart Ootes

The longest and most consequential game was played by Nodirbek Abdusattorov against Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu. Abdusattorov gradually outplayed the defending champion, winning a pawn and converting his advantage over the course of a 60-move struggle.

The result leaves Pragg as the only player in the Masters still without a point after two rounds, while Abdusattorov joined Hans Niemann and Arjun Erigaisi at the top of the standings on 1½ points each.

Abdusattorov converted this rook endgame with an extra pawn into a win. The technical task was not trivial at all, as there were moments in which it seemed plausible for Pragg to escape with a half point from the inferior position.

A smiling Nodirbek Abdusattorov | Photo: Tata Steel Chess / Lennart Ootes

The second decisive game saw Vladimir Fedoseev bounce back from his abrupt 16-move loss in round one by defeating top seed Vincent Keymer.

Keymer entered the endgame with a slight but persistent positional disadvantage.

Things began to go badly for Keymer after he erred with 16…b6. Fedoseev, showing his usual tactical alertness, found the refutation with 17.Nd5!. There followed 17…exd5 18.Qxd5+ Rf7 19.cxb6 Qxb6 20.Nc4 Bb7 21.Nxb6 Bxd5 22.Nxd5 Rxb2.

Although material was initially equal, his pieces remained poorly coordinated, carrying over problems from the middlegame. In an effort to untangle his position, Keymer eventually gave up a pawn. Subsequent exchanges only worsened his situation, leaving him with a scattered pawn structure and limited defensive resources.

The game concluded on move 44, when the German star was no longer able to adequately defend his h-pawn.

Instead of forcing you to memorise endless lines, Raja focuses on clear plans, typical ideas, and attacking motifs that you can apply in your own games without delay. A short, focused, and practical repertoire.
Grandmaster Harshit Raja, India’s 69th GM, has created a practical and powerful 1.e4 repertoire – perfect for players who want to play aggressively without drowning in opening theory. Whether you’re playing online or over-the-board, this course gives you solid attacking weapons that are easy to learn, fun to play, and difficult for opponents to face. 
Free sample video: Introduction
Free sample video: Scandinavian Defence

Vladimir Fedoseev | Photo: Tata Steel Chess / Jurriaan Hoefsmit

Among the drawn games, the encounter between Matthias Bluebaum and Niemann stood out from a theoretical perspective. Played in a Semi-Tarrasch Defence, the game resembled a textbook example of a highly drawish structure. Bluebaum succeeded in depriving Niemann of the right to castle, imposed doubled isolated pawns on the e-file and secured the bishop pair.

Nevertheless, the reduced material on the board meant that it was difficult for White to provoke further weaknesses. Black, for his part, was able to defend actively, and the game remained balanced throughout.

For Bluebaum, it was a second solid half-point and useful preparation in a tournament widely regarded as a testing ground for Candidates-level play.

Matthias Bluebaum | Photo: Tata Steel Chess / Jurriaan Hoefsmit

Elsewhere, 14-year-old Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus had genuine winning chances in a wild and unbalanced game against Aravindh Chithambaram, but was unable to convert.

Javokhir Sindarov twice let a promising position slip against Anish Giri, with the players even breaking into laughter during the game – a rare moment of levity at this level.

Remarkably, Sindarov had obtained a clean advantage out of the opening against one of the strongest theoreticians in the circuit. Here, with 23…Qxc6 24.Rxd4 Rxd4 25.Qxd4 Rc8, he would manage to make the advantage more tangible, as White will not be able to defend the c-pawn for long.

Two Super Grandmasters from India explain the ins & outs of Attack, Tactics an Calculations in these two video courses.

Instead, however, the Uzbek GM went for 23…Ne2+, allowing Giri to regroup. Right after making the mistake, Sindarov noticed what had just happened. His opponent returned to the board shocked by the move – and both players broke into laughter!

This was the first of two big misses by Sindarov, who also faltered in the endgame.

Here 41…f6 is completely winning, as White will soon run out of useful moves. But Sindarov went for the incorrect 41…a5 and Giri managed to restore the balance with 42.c6 f6 43.fxe5 fxe5 44.Ke4 Kd6, and the draw was agreed.

Surprisingly, Sindarov made this blunder after thinking for merely 20 seconds – not to mention that it is not frequent for elite GMs to falter in pure king-and-pawn endgames.

Taking it easy after a huge miss | Photo: Tata Steel Chess / Lennart Ootes

Standings after round 2

All games

Lu Miaoyi on 2/2 in the Challengers

In the Challengers tournament, the spotlight continued to fall firmly on the youngest participants. The Chinese champion and world number one in the girls’ under-20 ranking Lu Miaoyi emerged from round two as the sole leader with a perfect score. Notably, no other player in either the Masters or the Challengers has matched her tally so far.

Meanwhile, 12-year-old Faustino Oro also strengthened his position near the top of the standings, reaching 1½ points after defeating Dutch grandmaster Erwin l’Ami.

Round 2 results

The King‘s Indian Attack is a universal opening: easy to learn, flexible, and rich in both tactical and positional opportunities.

Bibisara Assaubayeva | Photo: Tata Steel Chess / Jurriaan Hoefsmit

Lu’s second win was particularly striking for several reasons. She was the only player on Sunday to score a victory with the black pieces, and her game against Vedant Panesar developed into a dramatic time-scramble.

The opening departed from established theory as early as move five, with Black adopting an Indian-style setup that left the centre initially unoccupied. The evaluation swung back and forth, but the most critical phase came late in the game, with no increment available before move 41. After White’s 35^th move, Lu had just 25 seconds remaining, while Panesar still had over 2 minutes.

Following White’s mistaken 35.Nf5, Black can win with the great-looking 35…Qd2, when after 36.Nxe7+ Kf8 37.Ng6+ Ke8, the black king is safe and there is no saving the white monarch.

Rather than aiming for the most precise win, Lu, with seconds on the clock, focused on surviving until the time control. Her 35…Bf6, in fact, gave White a better position. But it was Panesar who made the last mistake with 36.Nxd6, when the simple 36.Be3 would have granted him an advantage.

Now the straightforward 36…Rxd1+ 37.Qxd1 Rd8 is winning for Black. With mounting threats around the knight on d6, Panesar played on until move 40 to see whether his opponent would reach the increment, and then resigned.

At the moment of resignation, Panesar had only four seconds left on his clock, while the new tournament sole leader had eight.

Vedant Panesar facing Lu Miaoyi | Photo: Tata Steel Chess / Lennart Ootes

Oro’s win against L’Ami was equally noteworthy. For the 12-year-old Argentine, defeating a grandmaster rated above 2600 represented a significant milestone, even if he already has victories over elite opponents to his name. The game turned decisively when L’Ami placed his queen on a vulnerable file, allowing Oro to strike with e4 and take over the initiative. From that moment on, the balance tipped firmly in the youngster’s favour.

In this video course, experts (Pelletier, Marin, Müller and Reeh) examine the games of Judit Polgar. Let them show you which openings Polgar chose to play, where her strength in middlegames were, or how she outplayed her opponents in the endgame.

Vasyl Ivanchuk, aged 56, looks on as Faustino Oro, aged 12, gets his scoresheets in order | Photo: Tata Steel Chess / Jurriaan Hoefsmit

After two rounds, Lu leads the Challengers outright. A group of four players – Bibisara Assaubayeva, Aydin Suleymanli, Oro and Carissa Yip – follow half a point behind on 1½. As in the Masters, the majority of the field currently sits on 1 point.

The Dutch contingent has endured a particularly difficult start in the Challengers. While Giri at least secured a draw in the Masters, L’Ami, Eline Roebers and Max Warmerdam have all lost both of their games so far. After two rounds, the home venue in Wijk aan Zee has yet to translate into improved results for the local players.

Carissa Yip defeated Max Warmerdam | Photo: Tata Steel Chess / Jurriaan Hoefsmit

Standings after round 2

All games

Tournament schedule

Games start daily at 14:00 CET (7:00 ET, 20:30 IST), except for round 13, which starts two hours earlier than usual.

Two Super Grandmasters from India explain the ins & outs of Attack, Tactics an Calculations in these two video courses.

Links