Freestyle Chess Grand: Gukesh compelled to resign after simply 18 strikes in opposition to Caruana; Carlsen reaches semi-finals

Chess world champion and Indian Grandmaster D Gukesh was eradicated from the title race of the continued Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour Weissenhaus leg on Monday (10 January). Gukesh was knocked out after dropping each legs of the quarter-finals,
resigning in Sport 2 of the final eight match after simply 18 strikes in opposition to American Grandmaster Fabiano Caruana.

In the meantime, Magnus Carlsen, Vincent Keymer, and Javokhir Sindarov had been the opposite gamers who joined Caruana within the semi-finals. Whereas Carlsen defeated Nodirbek Abdusattorov for the second time within the quarter-finals, Keymer received his tie with a draw in opposition to Alireza Firouzja. Javokhir Sindarov shocked Hikaru Nakamura by clinching the speedy playoffs 2-0 after two attracts within the quarter-finals.

How Gukesh blundered in opposition to Caruana

Having already
misplaced Sport 1 of the quarter-finals, Gukesh wanted a win in opposition to Caruana on Monday to pressure tie-breakers. Nevertheless, the 18-year-old Indian chess sensation, who defeated Ding Liren within the World Chess Championship 2024, was at an obstacle enjoying with black items.

Caruana created early stress by capturing Gukesh’s pawns on d4 and f5. This opened an opportunity for Gukesh to maneuver his Bishop and seize the white pawn on a2 however he performed 6… g6?!. The pc engine didn’t assist the transfer and felt that 6… Bxa2 was the suitable decide.

This wasn’t the one mistake that Gukesh dedicated within the match. As per the evaluation by lichess.org, Gukesh blundered on the seventeenth transfer as properly when he performed 17… c5?! however the laptop felt 17… Nd7 was the perfect transfer.

With the pc engine giving an enormous benefit to Gukesh and Caruana choosing kingside castling, the Indian GM resigned with no hopes of eking out a win.

Caruana had a pawn benefit and a stable defence the place his King was properly protected. This compelled Gukesh to resign after simply 18 strikes as he might have felt it was higher for him to take relaxation and recharge his batteries.

Gukesh will now compete within the Fifth-Eighth place playoff.

Gukesh has not received a single recreation up to now within the Weissenhaus leg of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour 2025 and solely progressed to the quarter-finals by clinching the final qualifying spot after enjoying out seven attracts and struggling two losses within the round-robin stage.

Cals will face Keymer within the semi-final whereas Caruana will tackle Sindarov in his final 4 tie.