Tata steel masters 2023, Wijk aan Zee , Netherlands

[Sin Hombre]

I wouldn't put too much weight into an ELO ranking snapshot - I don't think anyone realistically thinks Anand is a top-10 player if he had to play a long tournament.

12 months trailing form is a much better indicator as long as they have played enough games (>50)
http://www.perpetualcheck.com/rang/inde ... en&k=world

Today's results in the Masters section were ok. All 3 of them drew against weaker opponents, ideally one of them should have won.

Much better in Challengers with both Leon and Divya winning again and Harika drawing.

[arjun2761]

Pragg wins and Gukesh and Vidit draw with each other in round 9.

Pragg and Gukesh are at 5.5/9 with 2 others (which is tops on points but they are 4 and 3 based on tie breakers).

Vidit is at 5/9 with 2 others (which is T-5 on points but Vidit is 6th on tie breakers).

[Sin Hombre]

Vidit and Pragg drew and Gukesh won. Gukesh and Nodirbek are tied for 1st at 6.5, Pragg and Anish tied for 3rd at 6 points, and Vidit tied for 5th at 5.5 points with Nepo, Wei Yi, Firouzja.

Abdusattorov plays Ju Wenjun with white tomorrow so will have a good chance to win again. Gukesh plays the very aggressive Firouzja with white which will be a chaotic game and will likely be a decisive game for one of them. Pragg plays Donchenko for white.

[prasen9]

Can Gukesh for a change plaz a bit defensive and try to get a draw. Or is he constitutionally unable to do that.

[Kumar]

In the initial stages of career, Anand was known for playing attacking game as well. Would be interesting to see if Gukesh evolves.

[Sin Hombre]

At this point of time, Gukesh needs to stay aggressive since that's what made him rise so quickly (fastest to 2750) and gets him a lot of invites to big tournaments. He is also very committed to the craft and he was a strong midgame player and is now increasingly showing that he can grind down opponents in the endgame too.

[Sin Hombre]

Heartbreak for Gukesh as he missed a three fold repetition in a winning position against Pragg in time pressure and allowed the latter to get away with a draw.

Vidit beat Nodirbek out of the opening and then grinded down a tough endgame. Anish and Wei Yi beat weaker opponents.

What this means is we have a 5-way tie for 1st going into the final round.

Gukesh plays the aggressive and out of form Parham with black, will have chances but has missed 2 wins in a row now.

Anish plays countryman Warmerdam with white, Max has lost 4 in a row and Anish will be heavily favored to win.

Nodirbek plays Donchenko with white, he will be a clear favorite though not as much as Anish.

Wei Yi and Vidit play each other.

Pragg and Alirez who are half a point behind also play each other.

In the Challenger section, Leon is now tied for 1st going into the final round and will play Divya with white.

[Sin Hombre]

Gukesh won his final round but Vidit lost to Wei Yi which meant we got a 4-way tie for 1st at 8.5 points with Anish, Gukesh, Nodirbek and Wei Yi. Vidit finished at 7.5 for a tie for 5th with Pragg and Alireza.

In the tiebreaks, Gukesh beat Anish but then lost to Wei Yi so no super GM win for him yet.

Leon won the Challengers so he will pay the Masters in 2025.