The Indian opening at the year’s first major chess tournament in the classical format has been low key so far. After five rounds played and eight more remaining in the Tata Steel Masters, the quartet would like to make their presence felt in a more telling manner on Friday (Jan 23, 6.30 pm IST) after a day of recess in Wijk Aan Zee.
D Gukesh’s first win in a game that lasted nearly six hours placed him joint second with two others on three points each. Three players are sharing the lead with 3.5. Arjun Erigaisi was the joint leader after four rounds but lost in the fifth. Here’s a look at how the Indians have done…
D Gukesh (W, D, D, D, D; 3 points): The world champion has held par, so to say, in the event where he is the fifth seed. He didn’t win as many games as he would have preferred, but he has tried. That is one of the characteristics which define him. The 19-plus from Chennai goes into long end games and refuses to draw even when the room to penetrate seems nonexistent. The win against Thai Dai Van Nguyen, the lowest-rated player in the field of 14 at 2656, was a reward for perseverance after the Czech made a mistake.
Arjun Erigaisi (L, D, D, D, W; 2.5 points): The fifth-round defeat against Vladimir Fedoseev was anti-climactic, not unexpected. This 22-year-old lives by the sword in the sense that he goes all out all the time. When one does that, the risk percentage rises and this relentless pushing sometimes result in mistakes and defeats. Experts doing live commentary were making this point during his game against the Russian. It was a blow no doubt, but the player born in Andhra Pradesh is in the contest because he has this ability to pull off wins.
R Praggnanandhaa (D, D, D, W, W; 1.5 points): The best performer of 2025 is showing signs of wear and tear. In his own admission, non-stop playing and travelling has taken its toll. He could not skip the event where his victorious march began last year. The 20-year-old is clearly not at his best and is desperately seeking time to rest and prepare before the Candidates starting on March 28. He did better after two straight defeats, but could not convert a superior position against Anish Giri of the Netherlands in the fifth round.
Aravindh Chithambaram (L, L, D, D, D; 1.5 points): In his first outing in a competition of this stature, this player from Tamil Nadu finds himself bottom of the table. Things have gone south after a meteoric rise which lifted him to No. 11 in the world last April. He gets into a phase of the tournament where each setback is going to make it more miserable. The 26-year-old can also turn the party spoiler by taking points off players in contention for the title. Unless he does that, he is certain to slip out of the 2700 bracket when the monthly ratings are released in February.
