Freestyle Chess: Winless Gukesh marches into knockouts!

Playing with white against Magnus Carlsen, D Gukesh had several opportunities for a draw but, as ambitious as ever, he pushed for more and eventually lost

IMAGE: Playing with white against Magnus Carlsen, D Gukesh had several opportunities for a draw but, as ambitious as ever, he pushed for more and eventually lost. Photograph: Kind courtesy Lennart Ootes/ Chasebase India/X

World Champion D Gukesh qualified for the knockout stage in the first event of the Freestyle Grand Slam Tour, despite losing to the world's highest-rated player, Magnus Carlsen of Norway, in the ninth and final round of the qualifiers.

With a total of 3.5 points, Gukesh finished a rare event without a single win, drawing seven matches and losing two.

However, this was enough for him to secure eighth place in the ten-player format, which could be described as one of the strongest chess events, albeit with a twist as the initial piece positions were altered.

Playing with white against Carlsen, Gukesh had several opportunities for a draw but, as ambitious as ever, he pushed for more and eventually lost.

Carlsen said, “He (Gukesh) made seven draws, he was winning some and losing some, and it needs to be studied.”

Iranian-turned-French Grandmaster Alireza Firouzja and Javokhir Sindarov of Uzbekistan topped the table with 6.5 points out of a possible nine in the round-robin rapid format, which allowed ten minutes for each player, plus a ten-second increment.

Fabiano Caruana of the United States finished third with 6 points, while Carlsen ended in fourth place with 5.5 points. Carlsen, after initial setbacks, managed to secure three victories and one draw in his last four games.

American Hikaru Nakamura also finished with 5.5 points, 1.5 points ahead of local representative Vincent Keymer, who placed sixth.

Nodirbek Abdusattorov of Uzbekistan and Gukesh were tied for seventh place with 3.5 points, both advancing to the knockout stage.

The final two finishers, Vladimir Fedoseev of Slovenia and Levon Aronian of the United States, will now play for the ninth spot.

The event carries a total prize pool of US$750,000, with a USD 150,000 bonus for the overall winner of the Grand Slam.

Final Standings: 1-2. Alireza Firouzja (Fra, 6.5), Javokhir Sindarov (Uzb, 6.5)

3. Fabiano Caruana (USA, 6)

4-5. Magnus Carlsen (Nor, 5.5), Hikaru Nakamura (USA, 5.5)

6. Vincent Keymer (Ger, 4)

7-8. Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzb, 3.5), D Gukesh (Ind, 3.5)

9. Vladimir Fedoseev (Slo, 2.5)

10. Levon Aronian (USA, 1.5).