Nodirbek Abdusattorov wins Tata Steel Masters with brilliant 9/13 score

Frontrunners Abdusattorov and Sindarov both score wins in final round

The Tata Steel Masters concluded with Nodirbek Abdusattorov taking clear first place. He began the final round as sole leader and confirmed tournament victory by defeating Arjun Erigaisi with the black pieces in an interesting battle arising from the Evans Gambit. This meant there was no need for a blitz playoff, as his closest rival, Javokhir Sindarov, also won but remained half a point behind.

Sindarov beat Thai Dai Van Nguyen with black in the last round, completing a notable 1–2 finish for Uzbekistan. Abdusattorov scored 9/13, while Sindarov finished on 8½/13. Sindarov was the only player in either section to go through the lengthy event undefeated, scoring four wins and nine draws.

Three players shared third place on 7½/13, a full point behind Sindarov: Jorden van Foreest, Vincent Keymer and Hans Niemann. According to the tiebreak system, Van Foreest – the 2021 champion – took the official third-place position.

Javokhir Sindarov taking a stroll during the final round of what was yet another exciting event in Wijk aan Zee | Photo: Tata Steel Chess / Lennart Ootes

Abdusattorov’s victory came after several near-misses in the last three editions of the tournament (i.e. all the editions in which he took part).

His scores in those editions were 8, 8½ and 8 points respectively. Fittingly, this year’s 9/13 finally gave him clear first.

The 21-year-old produced a 2862 tournament performance rating, gained 19.5 rating points and climbed to fifth place in the live world rankings, only behind Magnus Carlsen, Hikaru Nakamura, Fabiano Caruana and Vincent Keymer. It is a shame that we will not get to see him playing in the forthcoming Candidates Tournament!

Sindarov’s event was similarly impressive. His 8½/13 came with a 2833 TPR and a 19.4-point rating gain, lifting him to eleventh in the live list, a strong outcome ahead of the Candidates Tournament in March. After winning the FIDE World Cup last year, the 20-year-old proves once again his ability to perform strongly on the sport’s biggest stages.

It was also a successful event for the players who finished on 7½/13.

GM Blohberger presents a complete two-part repertoire for Black: practical, clear, and flexible – instead of endless theory, you’ll get straightforward concepts and strategies that are easy to learn and apply.
The King’s Indian Defence has been one of the most dynamic and popular responses to 1.d4 for decades. Legends such as Garry Kasparov, Bobby Fischer, and Hikaru Nakamura have employed it at the highest level – and it continues to fascinate today, as it offers Black not only solidity but also rich attacking and counterattacking opportunities. Its special advantage: the King’s Indian is a universal system, equally effective against 1.d4, 1.c4, and 1.Nf3. Grandmaster Felix Blohberger, multiple Austrian Champion and experienced second, presents a complete two-part repertoire for Black. His approach: practical, clear, and flexible – instead of endless theory, you’ll get straightforward concepts and strategies that are easy to learn and apply.
Free video sample: Introduction
Free video sample: London System

• Van Foreest gained 14.0 rating points and climbed to 24^th in the live rankings.
• Niemann gained 9.8 points and moved to 18^th.
• Keymer, the top seed, neither gained nor lost rating, yet still finished with a plus score despite losing four games, as he also scored six wins (and only three draws). In the final round, he obtained good winning chances against Gukesh, which could have brought him a fourth consecutive victory.

Also finishing with plus scores were Matthias Bluebaum and Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus, both on 7/13. Bluebaum briefly crossed the 2700 live-rating mark during the tournament before ending on 2697.5 after a loss to Abdusattorov in round twelve and a final-round draw with Erdogmus. The 14-year-old Erdogmus, meanwhile, showed he can compete on equal terms with established elite players.

Vincent Keymer has a look at the Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu v. Jorden van Foreest game (draw) | Photo: Tata Steel Chess / Lennart Ootes

Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus | Photo: Tata Steel Chess / Lennart Ootes

Matthias Bluebaum | Photo: Tata Steel Chess / Lennart Ootes

Round 13 results

Erigaisi 0-1 Abdusattorov

In this video course, Grandmaster Ivan Sokolov explores the fascinating world of Dutch and Grünfelkd structures with colours reversed.
In this video course, Grandmaster Ivan Sokolov explores one of the most intriguing and under-examined areas of modern chess: reversed opening systems, focusing on the Reversed Grünfeld and the Reversed Dutch. At first glance, these two systems seem unrelated. However, they share a common strategic challenge: the value of tempi, structure, and psychology when familiar openings are played with colours reversed. Drawing on his long professional experience, Sokolov explains why these positions are far more subtle than they appear and why traditional engine evaluations often fail to capture their true complexity.
Free sample video: Introduction
Free sample video: Larsen’s b4 Plan vs Reversed Stonewall Setups: Larsen – Spassky

The ever-fighting Arjun Erigaisi played the Evans Gambit against tournament leader – and eventual champion – Nodirbek Abdusattorov | Photo: Tata Steel Chess / Lennart Ootes

Nguyen 0-1 Sindarov

Javokhir Sindarov | Photo: Tata Steel Chess / Lennart Ootes

Gukesh ½-½ Keymer

Final standings

All games

Woodward beats L’Ami to clinch Challengers title, Ivanchuk grabs second place

The Challengers section also produced a clear winner. Fifteen-year-old Andy Woodward defeated Erwin l’Ami with the white pieces in the final round to win the event and secure a place in next year’s Masters. Woodward had started the day tied for first with Aydin Suleymanli and half a point ahead of Vasyl Ivanchuk.

Suleymanli’s risky approach did not succeed against top seed Velimir Ivic, who won in 34 moves and finished on 6/13.

By the time the games had passed the time control, Suleymanli had already lost and Ivanchuk held a clearly superior position against Daniil Yuffa. That situation meant Woodward had to win to take first outright, since a tie with Ivanchuk would have given the Ukrainian victory on the first tiebreak (direct encounter), as there are no playoffs in the Challengers.

Woodward converted his advantage against l’Ami and finished with 10/13, a 2750 TPR and a 23.3-point rating gain, climbing to sixth in the live junior rankings. After losing in round one to Bibisara Assaubayeva, he recovered by scoring five consecutive wins. Notably, he also bounced back from his round-ten loss to Ivanchuk by beating Marc’Andria Maurizzi and l’Ami with white in rounds eleven and thirteen respectively.

This video course includes GM Anish Giri’s deep insights and IM Sagar Shah’s pertinent questions to the super GM. In Vol.1 all the openings after 1.e4 are covered.

Andy Woodward | Photo: Tata Steel Chess / Lennart Ootes

Vasyl Ivanchuk won the Masters section in Wijk back in 1996, when the event was still called Hoogovens Chess Tournament | Photo: Tata Steel Chess / Lennart Ootes

Velimir Ivic defeated Aydin Suleymanli with black | Photo: Tata Steel Chess / Lennart Ootes

Round 13 results

Woodward 1-0 L’Ami

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.

Yuffa 0-1 Ivanchuk

Final standings

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.

GM Blohberger presents a complete two-part repertoire for Black: practical, clear, and flexible – instead of endless theory, you’ll get straightforward concepts and strategies that are easy to learn and apply.
The King’s Indian Defence has been one of the most dynamic and popular responses to 1.d4 for decades. Legends such as Garry Kasparov, Bobby Fischer, and Hikaru Nakamura have employed it at the highest level – and it continues to fascinate today, as it offers Black not only solidity but also rich attacking and counterattacking opportunities. Its special advantage: the King’s Indian is a universal system, equally effective against 1.d4, 1.c4, and 1.Nf3. Grandmaster Felix Blohberger, multiple Austrian Champion and experienced second, presents a complete two-part repertoire for Black. His approach: practical, clear, and flexible – instead of endless theory, you’ll get straightforward concepts and strategies that are easy to learn and apply.
Free video sample: Introduction
Free video sample: London System

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