D Gukesh Defeats Magnus Carlsen Again At Grand Chess Tour

New Delhi: Reigning world champion D Gukesh delivered a stunning performance on Thursday, defeating World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen in the sixth round of the Grand Chess Tour. With this win in Zagreb, Gukesh surged ahead to take sole lead in the tournament standings with 10 points.

Much like their previous encounter at Norway Chess, Carlsen started strongly, with both players blitzing through the opening moves. 

The Norwegian opted for the English Opening to try and catch Gukesh off guard. However, the turning point came on the 23rd move when Carlsen advanced his b-pawn to b4.

From that moment on, Gukesh steadily built his advantage.

Before facing Carlsen, Gukesh had already built strong momentum, having defeated Uzbekistan’s Nodirbek Abdusattorov and American grandmaster Fabiano Caruana in the fourth and fifth rounds. The back-to-back wins set the stage for his commanding performance against Carlsen.

A Statement Win After Pre-Match Doubts

Gukesh’s win also carried extra weight following comments made by Carlsen ahead of the match. The Norwegian downplayed Gukesh’s credentials, saying, “Gukesh hasn’t done anything to [show] that he’s going to do well in such a tournament… I will approach it as if I’m playing one of the presumably weaker players.”

‘A Convincing Loss for Magnus’

Legendary world champion Garry Kasparov, who was on the official commentary team, praised Gukesh’s composure and skill, stating:

“Now we can question Magnus’ domination. This is not just his second loss to Gukesh, it’s a convincing loss… It was a game that was a big fight. And Magnus lost.”