Tata Steel Chess: Bluebaum grabs second win in a row, joins chasing pack and crosses 2700 rating

Full points for Bluebaum, Gukesh, Keymer and Aravindh

Round ten of the Tata Steel Chess Tournament marked a second consecutive day with four decisive results in the Masters, further shaping the standings as the players headed into the final rest day on Thursday. The remaining three rounds of the event will be played from Friday to Sunday.

Leader Nodirbek Abdusattorov retained his position at the top after a 54-move draw with Vladimir Fedoseev. The game was far from routine, featuring a number of dynamic moments and strategic ideas, but neither player was able to gain a decisive edge. Abdusattorov therefore remains sole leader on 6½ points from 10 games.

Javokhir Sindarov and Jorden van Foreest, who had started the day half a point behind Abdusattorov, were paired against each other. Their encounter ended in a 34-move draw, leaving both still in joint second place. Sindarov, notably, continues to be the only player in the Masters who has not lost a game so far.

The only player who remains undefeated in the Masters, Javokhir Sindarov | Photo: Tata Steel Chess / Lennart Ootes

The main development among the pursuers came from Matthias Bluebaum, who recorded his second consecutive victory. After defeating world champion Gukesh Dommaraju in round nine, Bluebaum followed up with a 25-move win over Anish Giri.

The game was sharp from the outset. Giri responded to 1.d4 with 1…g6 and entered a provocative and unorthodox line. This opening choice may have been influenced by the fact that both Giri and Bluebaum are due to compete in the Candidates Tournament starting on 29 March (thus, Giri did not want to show his preparation in the most critical openings).

Bluebaum navigated the complications more successfully and seized the initiative early. In previous rounds he had failed to capitalise on clearly superior positions – notably against Arjun Erigaisi and Thai Dai Van Nguyen – but in rounds nine and ten he has demonstrated that he can also convert his advantages.

As a result, he climbed into shared second place, just half a point behind Abdusattorov, and has crossed the 2700 mark in the live ratings for the first time in his career. An incredibly consistent player, Bluebaum has been rated between 2600 and 2700 in the official ranking since March 2016! But he appears to be especially driven as he prepares for the Candidates.

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

Time to check the game’s lines with the computer | Photo: Tata Steel Chess / Lennart Ootes

Three further decisive games completed the round. Gukesh Dommaraju and Vincent Keymer both bounced back from losses in round nine, while Aravindh Chithambaram scored his first win of the event.

• Gukesh defeated Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus, though the Turkish teenager missed a strong tactical continuation that would have given him a winning position.
• By contrast, Keymer’s victory over Erigaisi was a convincing performance from start to finish. The Keymer v. Erigaisi encounter featured two elite grandmasters who have been in strong form but narrowly missed qualification for the Candidates.
• Aravindh Chithambaram defeated Thai Dai Van Nguyen with the white pieces after surviving a clearly inferior position.

Erdogmus 0-1 Gukesh

Gukesh Dommaraju | Photo: Tata Steel Chess / Lennart Ootes

Keymer 1-0 Erigaisi

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

Vincent Keymer | Photo: Tata Steel Chess / Lennart Ootes

Round 10 results

Standings after round 10

All games

Suleymanli climbs to sole first place, as Ivanchuk takes down Woodward

The Challengers section once again delivered a high proportion of decisive games, with five of the seven encounters producing a winner on Wednesday. These results had a major impact at the top of the standings.

Former sole leader Andy Woodward was defeated by Vasyl Ivanchuk in an exciting 37-move battle. Woodward, playing black, captured a poisoned pawn on b2, after which Ivanchuk demonstrated remarkable calculation to uncover the tactical continuation that led to a clearly superior position and a memorable win.

Living legend Vasyl Ivanchuk | Photo: Tata Steel Chess / Lennart Ootes

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 is still in the race for tournament victory (and a coveted spot in next year’s Masters section) | Photo: Tata Steel Chess / Lennart Ootes

This outcome allowed Aydin Suleymanli to move into sole first place. Suleymanli scored his third consecutive victory by defeating Daniil Yuffa with the black pieces. Their game began as a Semi-Slav Defence and quickly turned into a wild struggle, with both kings castled on opposite wings. Suleymanli handled the sharp tactical battle more effectively and converted his chances.

Black is already better in this position, but White can keep the battle going with 20.Nfd2 Bb7 21.Qxb3. Instead, Yuffa faltered with 20.axb4, which loses to 20…Qa2+ 21.Kc1 Bb7 22.Nfd2

22…Qa1+ 23.Nb1 Bxe4 sealed the deal for Suleymanli.

The Azerbaijani grandmaster is now the only player in the Challengers who remains undefeated and leads by half a point over Woodward and Marc’Andria Maurizzi. Maurizzi stayed in the race by beating Vedant Panesar with the white pieces.

Aydin Suleymanli | Photo: Tata Steel Chess / Lennart Ootes

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.

Ivanchuk’s win lifted him into sole fourth place, a further half point behind. He appears to be the last player with realistic chances of fighting for tournament victory, as Bibisara Assaubayeva, in sole fifth place, is a full point behind Ivanchuk and two points behind Suleymanli, with only three rounds to go.

Two key pairings await in Friday’s eleventh round: Suleymanli will have white against Ivanchuk, while Woodward will face Maurizzi with the white pieces.

Bibisara Assaubayeva defeated Eline Roebers | Photo: Tata Steel Chess / Lennart Ootes

Round 10 results

Standings after round 10

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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