World Chess Champion and India’s top-ranked player, D. Gukesh, defeated his compatriot Pentala Harikrishna in 46 moves during the 7th round of the Tata Steel chess tournament. This victory places Gukesh in joint leadership with Nodirbek Abdusattorov and R Praggnanandhaa in the standings. Harikrishna was previously part of Team Gukesh when the 18-year-old made history by defeating Ding Liren in Singapore, becoming the youngest world champion. Both Gukesh and Harikrishna were also teammates in India’s gold medal-winning team at the Chess Olympiad in Budapest.
Achievements and challenges
In addition to beating Harikrishna, Gukesh also defeated German Grandmaster Vincent Keymer earlier in the tournament. He has now drawn four games and won three. Currently, he shares the lead with Praggnanandhaa and Uzbek rival Nodirbek Abdusattarov, with all three players having five points after seven rounds. Gukesh’s upcoming match against Praggnanandhaa in Round 8 is highly anticipated.
“It’ll be a cool game. All of us youngsters will be playing a lot of games against each other and every game will be exciting. It will be a fun game,” Gukesh said about facing Praggnanandhaa.
Unique experience at Tata Steel
Gukesh expressed his appreciation for the quieter surroundings, contrasting it with the busy environment in India. “It’s nice (playing here), you look out the window and you don’t see anyone. And in India you don’t get that. It’s nice to have this change and it’s a fun tournament to play in. It had a special place in my heart,” Gukesh shared after his win.
Arjun Erigiaisi at bottom
In the 7th round, Arjun Erigaisi faced Max Warmerdam and lost the match. Despite his efforts, Arjun struggled in the tournament, currently sitting at the bottom of the standings. With only 1.5 points, he needs to find his form quickly to improve his position in future rounds.
Tata Steel Chess 2025 standings after 7 rounds
| Rank | Player | Country | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gukesh Dommaraju | India | 5 |
| 2 | Nodirbek Abdusattorov | Uzbekistan | 5 |
| 3 | Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu | India | 5 |
| 4 | Vladimir Fedoseev | Russia | 4.5 |
| 5 | Alexey Sarana | Russia | 4 |
| 6 | Fabiano Caruana | USA | 3.5 |
| 7 | Wei Yi | China | 3.5 |
| 8 | Pentala Harikrishna | India | 3.5 |
| 9 | Vincent Keymer | Germany | 3 |
| 10 | Anish Giri | Netherlands | 3 |
| 11 | Max Warmerdam | Netherlands | 3 |
| 12 | Jorden van Foreest | Netherlands | 2.5 |
| 13 | Leon Luke Mendonca | India | 2 |
| 14 | Arjun Erigaisi | India | 1.5 |
