Dutch grandmaster Anish Giri scored a crucial victory with Black against tournament leader Nodirbek Abdusattorov in round eight of the 2026 Tata Steel Chess Masters. World Champion Gukesh Dommaraju bounced back with a win over Vladimir Fedoseev, while Javokhir Sindarov remained unbeaten in a draw against Vincent Keymer. Abdusattorov holds a half-point lead heading into the rest day.
In a thrilling round eight of the 88th Tata Steel Chess Tournament, held in Wijk aan Zee, Netherlands, Anish Giri extended his impressive weekend by defeating sole leader Nodirbek Abdusattorov. This win followed Giri's victory over World Champion Gukesh Dommaraju the previous day. Giri, playing Black, navigated an unusual opening variation where he described the strategic battle as centering on "whose king is weaker." Abdusattorov's 20.Qd3? marked a serious misstep, allowing Giri to maintain control despite some counterplay chances.
Reflecting on his preparation, Giri remarked, "My prep basically never started and never ended. I am my prep!" He later admitted with a laugh that he was avoiding specifics about when his preparation ended. The game, analyzed as the day's highlight by GM Dejan Bojkov, showcased Giri's resilience during what he had anticipated as a tough stretch with Black pieces against top opponents.
Abdusattorov retained his lead with 6 points, half a point ahead of compatriot Javokhir Sindarov, the tournament's only unbeaten player after drawing quietly against Vincent Keymer. Gukesh, recovering from recent setbacks including a blunder against Abdusattorov, defeated Vladimir Fedoseev. Gukesh noted of his earlier error, "These kinds of blunders are maybe easier to handle than something you can explain. So this just happens. Sh*t happens!" He capitalized on Fedoseev's 18.e4?! to seize the initiative, eventually trapping a knight and winning tactically.
All other Masters games ended in draws, including tense battles like Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu holding Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus, Hans Niemann pressing Jorden van Foreest, and a wild equalizer by Thai Dai Van Nguyen against Matthias Bluebaum. Van Nguyen called it "100 percent the most crazy game I’ve ever played."
In the Challengers section, leaders Marc'Andria Maurizzi and Andy Woodward both won, maintaining their top spots. Aydin Suleymanli beat Carissa Yip to stay third, while Vasyl Ivanchuk edged Max Warmerdam in time-trouble chaos for fourth. A near-miss occurred as Daniil Yuffa let Panesar Vedant escape after 139 moves.
Round nine follows a rest day on January 27 at 8 a.m. ET, featuring a top-table clash between Sindarov and Abdusattorov. The 14-player round-robin uses 120 minutes for 40 moves, plus 30 minutes thereafter with a 30-second increment from move 41; no draws before move 40.
