World champion D. Gukesh delivered a technically brilliant performance to defeat Germany’s Vincent Keymer, taking his score to 3.5 points at the end of the fifth round of the Tata Steel Chess tournament.
This second victory propelled D Gukesh to fourth place in the live ratings, moving ahead of compatriot Arjun Erigaisi, who settled for a draw against Leon Luke Mendonca.
With eight rounds remaining in the tournament, the first rest day is set for Friday. Gukesh now has two victories and three draws, placing him just behind R. Praggnanandhaa and Abdusattorov Nodirbek of Uzbekistan.
Gukesh, playing with the white pieces, maintained complete control during his game against Keymer, utilising a Nimzo-Indian defence. He gained a solid hold on the central opening file, methodically captured a pawn, and handled the technical aspects of the game with precision. The match, lasting 72 moves, was the last of the day, and there was little doubt about the outcome once Gukesh found his rhythm.
On a day when Praggnanandhaa struggled to make an impact with his black pieces, drawing against Max Warmerdam of Holland, Abdusattorov capitalised on his slightly unfavourable colour to secure a victory over local hopeful Jorden Van Foreest.
At the end of the fifth round, both Praggnanandhaa and Abdusattorov were tied for the lead with four points each, while Gukesh was close behind with three and a half points, sharing that position with Vladimir Fedoseev of Slovenia. Fedoseev had an impressive day, securing a victory against the top seed Fabiano Caruana from the United States.
Meanwhile, Erigaisi drew his game against Mendonca, and P Harikrishna struggled with his black pieces against defending champion Wei Yi of China. Harikrishna, currently at three points, remains within striking distance of the leaders but will need to regain his winning momentum to pose a serious challenge to those ahead of him.
Praggnanandhaa desired a better outcome but faced a tough opponent in Warmerdam, who did not give him any chances. Playing the French Defense, Praggnanandhaa faced the exchange variation, and from the very beginning, he had to find ways to stay level. The game ended in a draw on the 40th move.
In the challengers’ section, R Vaishali drew against Frederik Svane of Germany, while her fellow Indian, Divya Deshmukh, lost to Erwin L’Ami of the Netherlands. Vaishali, with 2.5 points, has some catching up to do, while Divya needs to focus on achieving more victories.
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