Nodirbek Abdusattorov heads fellow Uzbekistani GM Javokhir Sindarov by a solitary point with a victory in the penultimate round of Tata Steel Chess on Saturday, the latter raising eyebrows by playing out a 14-move draw against R Praggnanandhaa with the title in sight.
Uzbekistani No 1 Nodirbek Abdusattorov surged ahead of compatriot Javokhir Sindarov on the Tata Steel Chess Masters’ standings with a victory in the 12th round on Saturday.
The two players were in the joint lead heading into the penultimate round at Netherlands’ Wijk aan Zee with 7 points each. Abdusattorov, however, would move into the sole lead after defeating German Grandmaster Matthias Bluebaum while playing as white, with Sindarov playing out a draw with defending champions R Praggnanandhaa.
Sindarov, Pragg shake hands after just 14 moves
Sindarov’s match was particularly perplexing as he would shake hands with ‘Pragg’ after just 14 moves with both players having plenty of time left on the clock – nearly two hours in the latter’s case. The game developed from a Queen’s Gambit Declined opening, in which both players opted for a pawn capture in the fourth move.
There wasn’t much of note happening in the game thereafter, with the two players shaking hands just 10 moves later via repetition, with the board virtually untouched save for a pawn each.
Each of the other three Indians in the competition also played out draws, although none of them ended as quickly. World champion D Gukesh had developed an advantageous position for himself against Hans Niemann and was leading on the eval bar for a considerable period of time until committing a knight blunder in his 41st move (41. Nhxf4+).
Gukesh and Niemann were left with a knight and a bishop respectively, with the former having a narrow 2-1 pawn advantage over his opponent. Neither, however, conceded an inch until the very end, opting to shake hands after 63 moves with the Indian having a little over a minute left on the clock.
Results of the Masters & Challengers after Round 12!💙 #TataSteelChess pic.twitter.com/I1YWgWQzQY
— Tata Steel Chess Tournament (@tatasteelchess) January 31, 2026
Aravindh Chithambaram, who had snapped his winless run in the tournament with a 10-round victory over Thai Dai Van Nguyen, played out a 52-move draw against home favourite Anish Giri while playing as white, in which both players had more than 30 minutes left on the clock and neither was able to build a considerable advantage over the other.
Arjun Erigaisi, meanwhile, was up against Jorden van Foreest, the other Dutchman in the competition, with the latter playing as white. The two shook hands after 36 moves with both players having their queens and both rooks on the board and a little over 10 minutes left on the clock.
Arjun faces Nodirbek in the 13th and final round on Sunday, with this contest potentially deciding the winner of the 2026 Tata Steel Chess Masters.
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