Daijiworld Media Network - Prague
Prague, Mar 4: For the past few years, resetting the pieces on the chessboard after every game has become reigning world champion D Gukesh’s quiet signature — a ritual he follows after crushing defeats, hard-fought draws and even historic victories.
He did it memorably after defeating Ding Liren in Game 14 of the World Championship in Singapore to seal his ascent as the youngest world champion. He repeated the gesture after that emotionally charged clash against Magnus Carlsen at Norway Chess last year. And even after recent painful defeats to Nodirbek Abdusattorov, including at the Tata Steel Chess Tournament, the 19-year-old maintained the ritual.
But on Tuesday evening at the Prague International Chess Festival, there was no such composure.
After resigning his sixth-round game against Aravindh Chithambaram, a visibly upset Gukesh briskly walked out of the playing hall, pausing only briefly to sign the scoresheets as required. The defeat not only pushed him down to World No 20 in the live FIDE ratings but also left him at the bottom of the 10-player standings.
After six rounds, Gukesh has suffered three defeats and drawn three games, costing him 19 rating points in the process.
The game against Aravindh turned on yet another late error under severe time pressure. Between moves 35 and 40, Gukesh had mere seconds on the clock. Although he held a rook and pawn against Aravindh’s two knights, he allowed his opponent’s pieces to dominate the e-file, leaving his king stranded on h2.
The decisive mistake came on move 40. With Aravindh’s knight attacking his rook on g3, Gukesh chose 40.Rgf3 instead of the more resilient 40.d3 — a move engines suggested would have held the position. The misstep proved fatal.
“Probably f4 was the crucial mistake because it allowed my knight to jump to e3 and e2,” Aravindh said in a post-game interview. “If he had played rook d2 instead, the game might have ended in a draw.”
Time pressure, Aravindh noted, played a decisive role. “With two knights on the board, it can get tricky. Time actually played a crucial factor. If he had more time, he would have definitely found rook d3 — that was the only move to save the game.”
Ironically, Aravindh himself had entered the round low on confidence after a string of disappointing results. “Both of us were having a bad tournament. It was very hard to play this game, but I’m happy I broke my losing streak,” he said.
For Gukesh, the road ahead in Prague offers little respite. He is set to face Parham Maghsoodloo, Vincent Keymer and David Anton Guijarro in the final three rounds — stern tests for a champion searching for form and composure.