In the first big competition of the year, Gukesh has won five times and drawn five times. He should be able to win the title if he adds another 1.5 points in the final three rounds.
In the eleventh round, world champion D. Gukesh, who is leading the Tata Steel Chess Tournament by a slim margin, takes on Wei Yi of China in an attempt to prolong his winning streak and win the first major championship of the season. Gukesh has not lost and needs just 1.5 points from his last three games to win the championship. He has five victories and five ties. He now leads the standings with 7.5 points, one point ahead of fellow countryman R. Praggnanandhaa and half a point ahead of Nodirbek Abdusattorov of Uzbekistan.
In addition to the title, Gukesh is working toward the 2800 Elo rating mark. He could become just the third Indian to surpass the milestone, following Viswanathan Anand and Erigaisi, with his current live ratings of 2794.
Meanwhile, Abdusattorov faces Vincent Keymer’s strong defense in the 11th round, while Praggnanandhaa meets pre-event favorite Fabiano Caruana.
Erigaisi and Leon Luke Mendonca are at the bottom with three points apiece, and Pentala Harikrishna has 4.5 points, making them the only Indian candidates who need to have excellent finishes.R. Vaishali has had moments of genius in the Challengers phase, scoring five points out of a possible ten, while Divya Deshmukh needs a late comeback after scoring two points. With 7.5 points, Czech general manager Nguyen Thai Dai Van is in first place, followed by Erwin L’Ami of Holland with seven.
