Tata Steel Masters: Gukesh to face Abdusattorov in round six

India’s world champion D Gukesh will meet joint leader Nodirbek Abdusattorov in round six of the Tata Steel Masters after his win over Thai Dai Van Nguyen. Arjun Erigaisi slipped to joint seventh, while Praggnanandhaa and Aravindh Chithambaram remain on 1.5 points

Wijk Aan Zee (The Netherlands): Boosted by his win in the previous match, India’s world champion D Gukesh will meet joint leader Nodirbek Abdusattorov of Uzbekistan in the sixth round of the Tata Steel Masters chess tournament here.

Gukesh, who defeated Thai Dai Van Nguyen of Czech Republic with black pieces in the fifth round, will again play with black. But if the form of the youngest ever world champion is any indication, the colour of the pieces should not matter.

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Missing out on a superior position in the opening round against Javokhir Sindarov of Uzbekistan and then being slightly shaky against Dutch Grandmaster Jorden van Foreest, Gukesh conceded that the start might have been indifferent but said everything was fine now.

With four draws and one victory, the Indian is sharing fourth spot with three points, half a point behind Abdusattorov, Sindarov and Hans Niemann of United States.

Arjun Erigaisi started off with a win against R Praggnanandhaa and then had three draws. He lost to Vladimir Fedoseev, the Russian who is representing Slovenia.

Erigaisi’s loss was disappointing as he went down amidst wild complexities, which is considered to be his forte. With 2.5 points, Arjun slipped to joint seventh spot from being a co-leader and will hope to make a strong comeback against Matthias Bluebaum of Germany in the sixth round.

Defending champion Praggnanandhaa has not performed up to expectations of his huge fanbase. With just 1.5 points, it is important for the lone Indian in the Candidates tournament to find his rhythm soon. Otherwise, it could be too late for a recovery. Praggnanandhaa meets Fedoseev in the next game.

The other Indian in the fray, Aravindh Chithambaram, has matched Praggnanandhaa on points and will look forward to an improved performance as the tournament progresses.

Now in its 88th edition, the Tata Steel Masters is being played on a round-robin basis with 13 rounds among 14 players. The prestigious tournament has been won by Viswanathan Anand five times in the past.

Round 6 pairings:

Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzb, 3.5) vs D Gukesh (Ind, 3)

R Praggnanandhaa (Ind, 1.5) vs Vladimir Fedoseev (Slo, 3)

Matthias Bluebaum (Ger, 2.5) vs Arjun Erigaisi (Ind, 2.5)

Aravindh Chithambaram (Ind, 1.5) vs Javokhir Sindarov (Uzb, 3.5)

Hans Niemann (USA, 3.5) vs Vincent Keymer (Ger, 2.5)

Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus (Tur, 2) vs Jorden van Foreest (Ned, 3)

Thai Dai Van Nguyen (Cze, 1.5) vs Anish Giri (Ned, 1.5)