Tata Steel Chess: Sindarov joins the lead in the Masters, Oro and Woodward continue to impress in the Challengers

Four decisive results, three co-leaders

Round five of the Tata Steel Masters produced the highest number of decisive games so far, with four of the seven encounters ending with a winner on the eve of the first rest day. As a result, three players now share the lead on 3½ points out of 5: Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Javokhir Sindarov and Hans Niemann, all standing on a plus-two score.

The headline pairing of the day saw the two overnight co-leaders, Abdusattorov and Niemann, face each other. Abdusattorov, playing black, opted for the Petroff Defence and remained under control throughout the game. Niemann consistently sought dynamic imbalances and invested more time in critical positions, but Abdusattorov defended accurately and never allowed his position to deteriorate. The game was eventually simplified into an equal endgame in which White had an extra exchange but was two pawns down.

The draw was agreed on move 48.

Danny Bakker signalled the start of round five. Bakker is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Eredivisie club Telstar. He played a key role in Telstar’s promotion to the Eredivisie in 2025, ending the club’s 47-year absence from the top flight.

Danny Bakker | Photo: Nils Rohde

Sindarov took full advantage of the leaders’ draw to join them at the top by defeating Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus. The 14-year-old Turkish player committed a tactical oversight that allowed Sindarov to simplify into a favourable major-piece endgame. Converting the advantage proved far from straightforward, however.

The game transitioned into a long rook endgame, in which Erdogmus repeatedly appeared close to escaping.

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In the end, Sindarov managed to create an outside passed pawn on the queenside and ground down his opponent, finally securing the point after 74 moves. (Find the full game with annotations below in this article).

Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus

Before losing to Javokhir Sindarov, Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus had drawn his first four games in the Masters | Photo: Nils Rohde

Three further games were decided in round five. Vincent Keymer recovered from the two losses he had suffered in rounds two and three by scoring a convincing attacking win over Aravindh Chithambaram. World champion Gukesh Dommaraju opened his winning account in the tournament, defeating Thai Dai Van Nguyen with the black pieces after four consecutive draws. Meanwhile, Vladimir Fedoseev collected his second win of the event by finding a brilliant tactical shot while playing black against Arjun Erigaisi.

Following these results, Gukesh and Fedoseev moved into the chasing group on 3 points, half a point behind the leaders. They are joined there by Jorden van Foreest, who tried until move 74 to press a very slightly favourable pure bishop endgame against Matthias Bluebaum, but was never able to generate serious winning chances.

Round 5 results

Sindarov 1-0 Erdogmus

Tata Steel Chess 2026

Players get Tata Steel pens to write down their moves | Photo: Nils Rohde

Keymer 1-0 Aravindh

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Vincent Keymer

Vincent Keymer | Photo: Nils Rohde

Nguyen 0-1 Gukesh

Gukesh Dommaraju

Gukesh Dommaraju | Photo: Nils Rohde

Erigaisi 0-1 Fedoseev

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Vladimir Fedoseev

Vladimir Fedoseev | Photo: Nils Rohde

Van Foreest ½-½ Bluebaum

Matthias Bluebaum

Matthias Bluebaum | Photo: Nils Rohde

Standings after round 5

All games

Oro and Woodward catch Suleymanli

Decisive games continued to dominate proceedings in the Challengers section, reinforcing the organisers’ policy of inviting ambitious and fighting players instead of focusing purely on rating considerations. Four of the seven games ended decisively in round five. After 35 games played so far, 24 have produced a winner – 13 in favour of White and 11 for Black. Despite this high percentage of decisive results, no player has yet exceeded 4 points out of 5.

Aydin Suleymanli, who entered the round as sole leader, drew his game with black against Max Warmerdam in 44 moves.

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Aydin Suleymanli

Aydin Suleymanli | Photo: Nils Rohde

This allowed Andy Woodward and Faustino Oro to catch him at the top of the standings. Woodward, who had started the tournament with a loss to Bibisara Assaubayeva after missing a winning tactical opportunity, has since won all four of his remaining games, including his round-five victory with black against Vedant Panesar.

Oro, like Suleymanli, remains undefeated and has now collected three wins. In round five, the 12-year-old from Buenos Aires defeated Lu Miaoyi while playing black. A tactical oversight on move 21 left Lu in a lost position, and Oro quickly found the correct refutation. From a positionally superior setup, he went on to convert with surgical precision.

Two further wins were scored by Eline Roebers and Carissa Yip. Roebers’ victory was particularly significant from a psychological perspective, as it came after four consecutive losses at the start of the event. Mwanwhile, Yip’s win lifted her into a two-player chasing group on 3½ points, alongside Marc’Andria Maurizzi, as they stand half a point behind the three leaders going into the rest day.