Gukesh Dommaraju Faces Consecutive Defeats at FIDE Grand Swiss Tournament
Gukesh Dommaraju experienced his second consecutive loss at the FIDE Grand Swiss tournament in Samarkand, plummeting to 53rd position after entering as the third seed. His latest setback came against 24-year-old Greek grandmaster Nikolas Theodorou, who is ranked 81st globally and has an ELO rating that is 120 points lower than Gukesh’s. Gukesh succumbed in the sixth round after 47 moves, following a previous defeat to Abhimanyu Mishra, the youngest grandmaster in chess history.
The disappointment was evident for Gukesh, compounded by the fact that he played a significant role in facilitating Theodorou’s victory. During the match, a crucial mistake proved to be detrimental for Gukesh.
According to tournament regulations, each player is allocated 100 minutes for the first 40 moves, with an increment of 30 seconds per move ipl match chat. Upon completion of the 40th move, they receive an additional 50 minutes for the next 20 moves. The pivotal error came from Gukesh on move 34. At that moment, Theodorou had just over six minutes left on his clock, meaning he would need to make six moves within that timeframe, aided by the 30-second increment for each move thereafter. However, Gukesh gave Theodorou 10 checks to his king in the following moves. While checking the king limits options, as it compels the player to either move the king or block the check, it also demands less strategic thinking as the choice of move is somewhat predetermined.
In an interview after his victory, Theodorou remarked, “It was good that he kept checking me because I was getting closer to crossing the time control.” He added, “I think he missed some of my resources. I have no idea what happened in the rook endgame. I thought it should be a draw, but he lost some tempi by checking my king.” Theodorou noted that after the time control, Gukesh had few opportunities to salvage the game.
Gukesh appeared to seek a threefold repetition, which led him to continuously check Theodorou. At one point, he even stood up to consult the arbiter about claiming a draw by threefold repetition. However, this claim was ultimately incorrect, as Theodorou explained: “He made an incorrect claim for a threefold repetition. So, I got the two extra minutes, which was nice.” The Greek grandmaster elaborated that while Gukesh’s king was on d7 during the first check, it was on e7 during the subsequent checks, meaning the claim did not hold.
The game-changing error stemmed from Gukesh’s move 34, where he opted to check with his rook (34. Ra7+). Instead, he needed to reposition his king to (34.Kf2!), closer to Theodorou’s advancing pawns on the c and d files, which posed a looming threat mohun bagan admission fees. After Gukesh’s check (34.Ra7+??), Theodorou’s pawns became unstoppable. The players engaged in a race to promote their respective pawns, but before Gukesh could secure any advantage, he chose to resign.
All Moves from Gukesh’s Match Against Nikolas Theodorou
- 1. e4 e5
- 2. Nf3 Nf6
- 3. Nxe5 d6
- 4. Nf3 Nxe4
- 5. d4 d5
- 6. Bd3 Bd6
- 7. O-O O-O
- 8. c4 c6
- 9. c5 Bc7
- 10. Nc3 Bf5
- 11. Ng5 Nxc3
- 12. bxc3 Qf6
- 13. g4 Bxd3
- 14. Qxd3 Qg6
- 15. Qxg6 hxg6
- 16. இந்தியன் சூப்பர் லீக் விளையாட்டுகள் Re1 Na6
- 17. Rb1 b6
- 18. Rb3 Rfe8
- 19. Rxe8+ Rxe8
- 20. Ra3 Re1+
- 21. Kg2 Rxc1
- 22. Rxa6 Bd8
- 23. Nf3 Kf8
- 24. Rxa7 bxc5
- 25. Ne5 Bf6
- 26. Rxf7+ Ke8
- 27. Ra7 Rxc3
- 28. Ra8+ Ke7
- 29. Nxc6+ Kd7
- 30. Ne5+ Bxe5
- 31. dxe5 d4
- 32 ma stadium photos. f4 d3
- 33. Ra6 c4
- 34. Ra7+ Ke8
- 35. Ra8+ Ke7
- 36. Ra7+ Ke8
- 37. Ra8+ Ke7
- 38. Ra7+ Kd8
- 39. Ra8+ Kd7
- 40. Ra7+ Kd8
- 41. Ra8+ Kc7
- 42. Ra7+ Kc6
- 43. Ra6+ Kc5
- 44. Rd6 Rc2+
- 45. Kf3 d2
- 46. Rd8 c3
- 47 match yesterday result. e6 Rc1
Theodorou mentioned that, having not played many elite players in competitive settings, he entered the Grand Swiss simply hoping to avoid a disastrous opening. “I haven’t had too many chances to play against the top players, and it’s my first time playing against a world champion in classical. It definitely felt special, but I tried not to think too much about all the people watching,” he concluded.
What will Gukesh Dommaraju learn from this experience as he prepares for future matches?
