The threat of checkmate, starting with Qh8+, would force Black to sacrifice, e.g. with 27…Nc6, and the queen becomes too powerful. Black resigned.
Fabiano Caruana scored the one decisive game in round 3 of the Tata Steel Masters, as he beat Jorden van Foreest with the white pieces to join the leading pack, now comprising five players. The longest games of the day in this section saw Vincent Keymer and Arjun Erigaisi successfully defending tough positions against Praggnanandhaa and Levon Aronian, respectively. Meanwhile, six players are sharing first place in the Challengers.