The unique challenge of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam in Weissenhaus, Germany, saw a pivotal moment as reigning World Champion D Gukesh was eliminated from the tournament`s main bracket. His quarterfinal opponent, the highly-ranked American Grandmaster Fabiano Caruana, proved too strong over their two-game encounter.
Having suffered a loss in the first game of the quarterfinal tie, Gukesh faced a familiar, yet demanding, scenario: needing a win with the black pieces to push the match to tie-breaks. However, the second game, played under the tournament`s distinctive randomized back rank rule (specifically position 270 for this round), quickly tilted in Caruana`s favor.
The starting position, featuring knights tucked away on a1 and d1, rooks on b1 and h1, the king on c1, queen on e1, and bishops on f1 and g1, demanded on-the-spot creativity rather than pre-game preparation. Caruana, playing with White, handled this unusual setup with impressive precision. Gukesh, attempting to navigate the early complexities, made a deviation on his third move that led to him falling a pawn behind as Caruana seized control of the central squares.
A subsequent move, 7…Bxa2, proved particularly detrimental for the young Indian champion. This seemingly innocent pawn capture unfortunately opened lines for Caruana`s rook, setting the stage for unfavorable exchanges. As pieces came off the board, Gukesh found himself in a strategically difficult position, a pawn down and lacking active play. Despite his best efforts to consolidate, the disadvantage became insurmountable. By the seventeenth move, facing a position where even salvaging a draw seemed a remote possibility, Gukesh resigned, conceding the game and the quarterfinal match to Caruana with a 0-2 score.
Gukesh`s performance highlights the challenging nature of Freestyle Chess, a format intentionally designed to minimize the impact of opening theory and preparation, which is a significant strength for many top players, including Gukesh. His path to the knockouts was already fraught, securing the final qualification spot after a tense rapid round-robin stage. While a transition to classical time controls for the quarterfinals might have been expected to favor his recent classical form – which, after all, led him to become World Champion – the decisive nature of the losses to Caruana suggests he is still finding his footing in this less predictable landscape. Indeed, Caruana`s remarkable 97% accuracy in the second game speaks volumes about the level required and Gukesh`s difficulty in matching it on this occasion.
This quarterfinal exit, coupled with a heartbreaking tie-break loss in the Tata Steel Chess tournament final just a week prior, presents a somewhat sobering period for the young World Champion following the immense high of his title victory. The competitive chess circuit, it seems, offers little respite, constantly demanding adaptation and resilience.
Gukesh`s journey at Weissenhaus is not entirely over. He will now participate in the ranking matches to determine places fifth through eighth. This offers an opportunity to gain further experience in the format and secure valuable rating points and prize money ($50,000 for fifth, $10,000 for eighth), facing off against the loser of the Hikaru Nakamura vs. Jakovhir Sindarov quarterfinal tie.
Other Quarterfinal Results:
- Fabiano Caruana defeated D Gukesh (2-0)
- Magnus Carlsen defeated Nodirbek Abdusattorov (2-0)
- Vincent Keymer defeated Alireza Firouzja (1.5-0.5)
- Javokhir Sindarov defeated Hikaru Nakamura (2.5-1.5)
As the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam progresses towards its conclusion, Gukesh`s quarterfinal loss serves as a reminder of the format`s capacity for surprises and the continuous evolution required even from the world`s best players. His future games in the ranking section will provide further insight into his ongoing adaptation to this exciting, albeit challenging, variant of chess.
Tristan Blackwood