Gukesh Advances to Knockout Stage Despite Loss to Carlsen in Chess Grand Tour

Indian chess prodigy D Gukesh has secured a spot in the knockout stage of the Freestyle Chess Grand Tour in Weissenhaus, Germany, despite failing to win any games in the round-robin phase. Gukesh finished eighth out of ten participants, managing four draws and one loss on the second day of competition.

The highlight of Gukesh’s day was his encounter with world #1 Magnus Carlsen, their first meeting since Gukesh’s world championship victory in December. The game was evenly matched until the endgame, where Carlsen’s expertise shone through. Under time pressure, Gukesh made a critical error with his knight, allowing Carlsen to dominate the position and secure victory.

In his other matches, Gukesh narrowly escaped defeat against Fabiano Caruana, salvaging a draw despite being in a losing position. He also played to peaceful draws against Vladimir Fedoseev and Vincent Keymer.

Alireza Firouzja topped the standings with 6.5 points, followed closely by Javokhir Sindarov. The knockout stage pairings will be determined tomorrow, with the top finishers having the privilege of choosing their opponents from the lower-ranked qualifiers.

Final Standings after Round-Robin Stage:

1. Alireza Firouzja – 6.5 points
2. Javokhir Sindarov – 6.5 points
3. Fabiano Caruana – 6 points
4. Magnus Carlsen – 5.5 points
5. Hikaru Nakamura – 5.5 points
6. Vincent Keymer – 4 points
7. Nodirbek Abdusattorov – 3.5 points
8. Dommaraju Gukesh – 3.5 points
9. Vladimir Fedoseev – 2.5 points
10. Levon Aronian – 1.5 points