An incredible weekend for Dutch GM Anish Giri ended with him adding victory with Black over leader GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov to his win over World Champion Gukesh Dommaraju the day before. Abdusattorov still leads the 2026 Tata Steel Chess Masters by half a point ahead of his Uzbek countryman GM Javokhir Sindarov, the only remaining unbeaten player. Gukesh hit back with a fine win over GM Vladimir Fedoseev, while the other games were drawn.
GMs Marc’Andria Maurizzi and Andy Woodward still lead the 2026 Tata Steel Chess Challengers after both won in round eight, against IMs Lu Miaoyi and Faustino Oro respectively. GM Aydin Suleymanli beat IM Carissa Yip to remain in third, while GM Vasyl Ivanchuk is fourth after emerging victorious from more time-trouble mayhem, this time against GM Max Warmerdam. We nearly had all-decisive games but GM Daniil Yuffa let FM Panesar Vedant escape in 139 moves.
This is a flash report—come back later for full player quotes and analysis!
Round nine, after a rest day, starts on Tuesday, January 27, at 8 a.m. ET/ 14:00 CET / 6:30 p.m. IST.
Masters: Giri On Fire As Gukesh Bounces Back
Tata Steel Masters: Round 8 Results
There were only two wins in round eight, but that included a loss for the leader.
Tata Steel Masters: Standings After Round 8
Abdusattorov’s lead has been cut to half a point over Sindarov, with GMs Hans Niemann, Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus, and Jorden van Foreest all moving within striking distance of the leader.
Our Game of the Day is Giri’s impressive defeat of Abdusattorov, which GM Dejan Bojkov will analyze below.
Challengers: Maurizzi, Woodward Keep Winning
Tata Steel Challengers: Round 8 Results
We were a whisker away from a day of all-decisive games in the Challengers.
Tata Steel Challengers: Standings After Round 8
The players chasing first place and promotion to the Masters all won in round eight so that the relative standings were unchanged, but a full-point gap opened up below Ivanchuk.
How To Watch
The 88th edition of Tata Steel Chess takes place January 17-February 1, 2026, in Wijk aan Zee, the Netherlands. Both the Masters and Challengers groups are 14-player round-robin tournaments. The time control is 120 minutes for 40 moves followed by 30 minutes to the end of the game, with a 30-second increment only from move 41. No draw offers are allowed before move 40.
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