{"id":3174,"date":"2025-09-12T09:01:14","date_gmt":"2025-09-12T01:01:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/?p=3174"},"modified":"2025-09-12T09:01:16","modified_gmt":"2025-09-12T01:01:16","slug":"bluebaum-and-sarin-seize-the-lead-as-world-champion-continues-to-struggle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/bluebaum-and-sarin-seize-the-lead-as-world-champion-continues-to-struggle\/","title":{"rendered":"Bluebaum and Sarin seize the lead, as World Champion continues to struggle"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Day seven of the FIDE Grand Swiss 2025 brought a dramatic shake-up at the top, as Matthias Bluebaum and Nihal Sarin seized the lead in the Open with 5.5\/7. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the Women\u2019s Grand Swiss, Vaishali is again the sole leader after a victory over Guo Qi and is on 6\/7.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After leading for four straight rounds, Parham Maghsoodloo suffered his first loss in the tournament. He was defeated in the Slav by Nihal Sarin, who played as White. The Iranian maintained parity roughly until move 30, when time trouble caused him to slip.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
White is a pawn up and has two runners on the queenside, but it\u2019s not easy. Black has pressure along the e-file, and the queen-pawn battery pins the g3-square, leaving White\u2019s king exposed. The best choice for White here was to play 34.Rc7 which puts pressure on Black\u2019s seventh rank but also cuts the queen pin on g3.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But Sarin was also in time trouble and instead opted for 34.Nxg6?<\/strong> which was met by the immediate 34\u2026Qg3+<\/strong> and now the position is even. After 35.Kf1 Nf6 36.Rxf6! gxf6 37.Nxh4<\/strong> the opponents reached the final critical position:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
Instead of taking on h4 and proceeding with Rc3, Maghsoodloo played 37\u2026Rxb3??<\/strong> which allowed White to evict the black queen with 38.Nf5! <\/strong>the rest was an easy ride for Nihal. After Qf4 39.Qxd5 Rb1+ 40.Kf2 Re5 41.Qd8+ Kh7 42.Qxf6 <\/strong>threatening checkmate on g7, Black resigned, catapulting Nihal Sarin to the shared lead in the tournament.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Things also cleared up among the other four players who \u2013 like Sarin \u2013 entered the round with 4.5 points.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Arjun Erigaisi lost as White to Germany\u2019s Matthias Bluebaum. Playing against the Catalan, Erigaisi made several unforced errors, leading to a completely lost position as early as move 26.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Black\u2019s pieces are more active and he has potential discovered attacks along the d-file. Instead of moving his d2-bishop to safety with 26.Bf4 with a slightly inferior but defendable position, Erigaisi blundered with 26.Qxa7??<\/strong> which was met by a quick 26\u2026Ba8!<\/strong> The rook is attacking the queen, but the real target is the d2-bishop; wherever White puts his queen, she will be attacked in the next move by the d5-knight, opening the file for the rook to capture the bishop on d2.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This victory launched Bluebaum to shared first place, together with Sarin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On board three, Anish Giri split a point with Abhimanyu Mishra in the King\u2019s Indian. Despite Giri securing an extra pawn towards the end, it was a drawn rook endgame and Mishra held it without trouble.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In other notable results of the round, Alireza Firouzja won as White against Uzbekistan\u2019s Nodirbek Yakubboev. Uzbekistan\u2019s pride was saved by another Nodirbek \u2013 Abdusattorov, who defeated Iranian Amin Tabatabaei in the Italian Game. Abdusattorov was better for most of the game, advancing his d-pawn before an effective finish:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Out of many winning options Nodirbek chose the most spectacular: 36.Bd5! <\/strong>leaving Black paralysed, as he can either take the bishop or lose a knight on c4. Either way, the outcome was certain: 36\u2026Bxd5 37.Rb8<\/strong> and Black can\u2019t prevent the queen promotion on c8.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For his victory, Abdusattorov was declared the player of the day in the Open.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In one of the most anticipated duels of the day, Hans Niemann defeated the 14-year-old Turkish prodigy Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus in a double-edged Petrov. The opponents traded mistakes in the critical position on move 13.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Both sides are in attack mode. Instead of 14.Bxc6! Hans opted for the weaker 14.h3<\/strong> giving a chance to Black to play sharp with 14\u2026fxg2 and in case of 15.hxg4 then Qh4 16.Kxg2 Bd6 with a very uncomfortable position for White.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But Erdogmus played 14\u2026Bh5<\/strong> allowing White to proceed with the original plan: 15.Bxc6 bxc6? <\/strong>15\u2026Qc6 was better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
16.Re5 Qg6 17.g3 Bd6 18.Nb3!<\/strong> Black can\u2019t take on d5 because of 18\u2026Bxd5?? 19.Nc5 with a threat of mate with Qa6-b7. Niemann converted this winning position with surgical precision forcing Black\u2019s resignation on move 27.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rating favourite Praggnanandhaa and 2023 Grand Swiss winner Gujrathi both won their games today, maintaining close proximity to the top. But the World Champion, Gukesh D, continues to sink. He lost again today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
 A third consecutive loss for Gukesh<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Playing as Black against Turkey\u2019s rising star, Ediz Gurel, the World Champion managed to gain a slight advantage in the middlegame but then blundered away.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n
With a third loss in a row, Gukesh has completely sunk in the tournament.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
 The Women\u2019s tournament<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Vaishali R extended her lead, again emerging as the sole leader in the tournament.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Playing with the white pieces against China\u2019s Guo Qi, Vaishali achieved more initiative in the Petrov, opting for a sharp approach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Vaishali is attacking. Here Black had to decide where to retreat her queen. The best option was 21\u2026Qg4 transferring her most powerful piece to the kingside and maintaining equality. Guo, however, moved her queen to a passive position with 21\u2026Qa6? <\/strong>and after 22.Bxe7<\/strong> (even better was 22.Nh5 immediately) 22\u2026Nxe7 23.f4 h5?<\/strong> 24.f5! h4 25.Nh5 Rcc8 26.f6!<\/strong> White got to the black king. A few moves later Guo resigned facing the imminent checkmate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another confident performance by Vaishali, who is on a path to defend her 2023 Grand Swiss title. The win puts her alone at the top and earns her player of the day honours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Vaishali\u2019s co-leader from day six, Kateryna Lagno, drew with the black pieces on board one against former Women\u2019s World Champion Antoaneta Stefanova. In the Four Knights game neither side secured any advantage throughout and a draw was agreed on move 26 following threefold repetition. After the draw, Lagno is in sole second place, on 5.5 points.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the cohort of players on four points, former World Champion Mariya Muzychuk, Bibisara Assaubayeva and Yuxing Song all won their games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Assaubayeva defeated Irina Bulmaga (who was also on 4\/6) in the English, in a game lasting 85 moves. In a rook and knight endgame where Bibisara had a 2:1 pawn advantage on the kingside, Bulmaga made several errors allowing White to capture her remaining pawn and win.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mariya Muzychuk scored an effective victory over Uzbekistan\u2019s Afruza Khamdamova finding the most efficient continuation in the following position:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
20.Nf4!<\/strong> Offering a knight but staging a double attack \u2013 on h6 and e6. 20\u2026gxf4<\/strong> Black has no better option. After 21.Rxh6 Bd7 22.exf4 fxg4 23.d5<\/strong>?! g3?<\/strong> 24.Qe4 c5<\/strong> 25.d6<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
White is winning here as Black\u2019s pieces are all tangled up and exposed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Song Yuxing defeated Ulviyya Fataliyeva in a game which saw the black king take an early walk in the game to f6.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
White is better but Black had several decent options such as 13\u2026Bd6 and 13\u2026Nc6 to name a few. Instead, Ulviyya played 13\u2026h6 <\/strong>and after 14.Qh5 <\/strong>White is already winning as her pin on e6 has tied up Black in the centre. So, Fataliyeva decided to take the king for a walk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
14\u2026Ke7 15.Qh5+ Ke8 16.Qh5 Ke7 17.Ba3+ Kf6 18.Bxf8?! <\/strong>The immediate 18.f4 was much better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
18\u2026 Nxf8 19.f4! Ng6 20.f5<\/strong> and White forced capitulation right before the time control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
Written by Milan Dinic<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Photos: Michal Walusza<\/em> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Day seven of the FIDE Grand Swiss 2025 brought a dramatic shake-up at the top, as Matthias Bluebaum<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3175,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[44,7],"tags":[39],"class_list":["post-3174","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","category-newsbeat","tag-chess"],"aioseo_notices":[],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Gukesh_compressed-1.jpg",1000,648,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Gukesh_compressed-1-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Gukesh_compressed-1-300x194.jpg",300,194,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Gukesh_compressed-1-768x498.jpg",640,415,true],"large":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Gukesh_compressed-1.jpg",640,415,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Gukesh_compressed-1.jpg",1000,648,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Gukesh_compressed-1.jpg",1000,648,false],"morenews-large":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Gukesh_compressed-1-825x575.jpg",825,575,true],"morenews-medium":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Gukesh_compressed-1-590x410.jpg",590,410,true]},"author_info":{"info":["admin"]},"category_info":"International<\/a> Newsbeat<\/a>","tag_info":"Newsbeat","comment_count":"0","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Gukesh_compressed-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3174","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3174"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3174\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3176,"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3174\/revisions\/3176"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3175"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3174"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3174"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3174"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}