Zagreb (Croatia), July 4: Indian chess grandmaster and current world champion D. Gukesh caused a big upset by defeating Norway’s legendary player Magnus Carlsen in the sixth round of the Grand Chess Tournament. With this win, Gukesh has secured the top spot in the tournament with 10 points.
Defeated Carlsen for the second time in a row
Gukesh also defeated Carlsen in the Norway Chess Tournament last month. This is his second consecutive win against the world number-1. Gukesh is now rapidly establishing himself in the list of top players in the world.
Loss in the first round, then a strong comeback
At the beginning of the tournament, Gukesh had to face defeat in 59 moves from Poland’s Duda. But after this, he made a tremendous comeback:
Defeated Alireza Firouzja (France) in the second round
Defeated Praggnanandhaa (India) in the third round
Boosted his confidence by defeating Abdusattorov (Uzbekistan) and Fabiano Caruana (USA) in the fourth and fifth rounds
And now he has gained a lead in the tournament by defeating Carlsen in the sixth round
Carlsen had called Gukesh a ‘weak player’ before the match
Before the match, Magnus Carlsen had questioned Gukesh’s ability. He had said:
“Gukesh played well here last time, but it remains to be proven that he is one of the best players in this format. He will be one of the weakest players in this tournament.”
Gukesh gave a befitting reply to Carlsen’s comment with his game.
Current position
Gukesh: 10 points
Top position in the tournament
Continuous win in last 5 games
Proud moment for India
This achievement of D. Gukesh is not only a matter of pride for Indian chess but will also prove to be a confidence booster for him in the upcoming tournaments. He has proved that he is not only the world champion but now has the power to defeat world number-1 players as well.