Gukesh finishes joint second in Masters; Mendonca wins Challenger

Grandmaster D Gukesh endured a heartbreak in the final tie-breaker against Wei Yi of China and had to be content with a joint second place finish at the Tata Steel Masters chess tournament in Wijk Aan Zee, The Netherlands.

Indian Grandmaster Leon Luke Mendonca, however, won the challengers section, defeating compatriot Divya Deshmukh in the 13th and final round.

It was a full day of hard work for Gukesh as he had to win the 13th round game with black against Parham Maghsoodloo of Iran and then prove superior in three tie-break games against last year's winner Anish Giri to qualify for the final.

Once there, the Indian raised visions of winning the tournament but Wei Yi was simply better in the return game after drawing the first.

If Gukesh was a heartbreak, Mendonca remained pretty much in the shadows throughout the event in the company of big stalwarts.

Mendonca defeated Divya in another complicated game that could have swung either ways but the latter was the first to err as she went for a wrong capture in the middle game.

"I am very happy and relieved because it was not clear at all throughout the tournament whether I was close to winning or not. It was only before this round that I had a real chance. I also needed a lot of luck as well but mostly I am just relieved," said Mendonca after his win.

Mendonca scored 3/6 in the first half of the event and then went on to score 6.5/7 in the second half.

In addition to the title, Mendonca will also feature in the Masters section in 2025 and this is seen as a big breakthrough for the young Goa-based player, who became a Grandmaster during COVID after he was stuck in Europe.

Earlier in the 13th round in the Masters, Gukesh won a very complex game with black pieces against Maghsoodloo.

Playing the Ragozine defense, Gukesh faced a difficult defense in the middle game when Maghsoodloo sacrificed a piece but the Indian was on his feat with the desired counter-active measures.

The end was sweet as Gukesh sacrificed a rook to seal the matter.

Vidit Gujrathi was outplayed by Wei Yi in another key game of final round. The Nasik-based player could not recover from a consistent onslaught.

Gukesh played an excellent tie-breaker against Giri after losing the first game with white. Coming back strongly to win the second, he was at his best in finding the right resources in crunch situations in the final game.

Against Wei Yi, though, Gukesh squandered away, in what looked like a tangible position, and Wei Yi showed his tactical acumen to win his first title in the Masters event.

Results of final round of Masters (Indians unless stated):

Parham Maghsoodloo (IRI, 4.5) lost to D Gukesh (8.5); R Praggnanandhaa (7.5) drew with Alireza Firouza (FRA, 7.5); Wei Yi (CHN, 8.5) beat Vidit Gujrathi (7.5); Nodirbek Abdusattarov (UZB, 8.5) beat Alexander Donchenko; Ding Liren (CHN, 6) drew with Wenjun Ju (CHN, 4.5); Ian Nepomniachtchi (RUS, 6.5) drew with Jorden Van Foreest (NED, 4.5); Anish Giri (NED, 8.5) beat Max Warmerdam (NED, 4).

Tiebreak 1: D Gueksh beat Anish Giri 1-1, 1-0.

Tiebreak 2: Wei Yi beat Nodirbek Abdusattarov 1.5-0.5.

Tiebreak final: D Gukesh lost to Wei Yi 0.5-1.5.

Challengers: Daniel Dardha (BEL, 9) beat Liam Vrolijk (NED, 5.5); Jaime Santos Latasa (ESP, 7); drew with Hans Moke Niemann (USA, 7); Erwin L'Ami (NED, 8.5) drew with Marc Andria Mariuzzi (FRA, 9); D Harika (5.5) beat Eline Roebers (NED, 2); Leon Luke Mendonca (9.5) beat Divya Deshmukh (4.5); Stefan Beukema (NED, 2.5) lost to A R Saleh Salem (UAE, 6.5); Anton Korobov (UKR, 8) beat Yilmaz Mustafa (TUR, 5).