 "Gukesh jokes after beating teenage prodigy Erdogmus to revive Tata Steel campaign: 'I wanted to teach him some lessons'")
Chess world champion D Gukesh once again bounced back in Tata Steel Chess 2026 on Wednesday as he defeated 14-year-old Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus of Turkey. This was Gukesh’s third win at the Wijk aan Zee tournament, and came after losing to Matthias Bluebaum in Round 9.
With three more rounds to go, Gukesh is 1.5 points behind the leader, Nodirbek Abdusattorov (6.5). India’s R Praggnanandhaa (4.5), Arjun Erigaisi (4) and Aravindh Chithambaram (3.5) have also been struggling for form. In the 10th round, Praggnanandhaa drew against Hans Niemann, while Erigaisi lost to Keymer and Chithambaram defeated Thai Dai Van Nguyen.
Gukesh bounces back, cracks jokes after beating Erdogmus
The best part of Gukesh’s win over the new chess sensation Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus was that the Indian Grandmaster won with black pieces in 50 moves. Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus started strongly, taking a 30-minute lead over Gukesh by the ninth move. But it all went to drain when he took 50 minutes on the 11th move.
Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus, however, was handed a lifeline when Gukesh blundered with 27…Ba6, but the Turkish star committed a blunder himself in reply by playing 28.Rxa6 when Rad1 was the best move.
How Gukesh defeated Erdogmus
Later, while talking to the organisers, Gukesh admitted that he was happy that Erdogmus failed to spot the winning move.
“But lucky for me, he did not find it. We both missed it. I’ve had so many unlucky moments here… always good to get some luck back,” Gukesh said.
Erdogmus lost the game when he made another blunder with 41.Kf3 and Gukesh went on to win the match soon after.
“It was a nice feeling to be the youngest player in the tournaments I played in. Now it’s not the case anymore. I’ve been really impressed by him," Gukesh said while praising his opponent. “What he’s been doing over the last one year has been impressive. Today I wanted to teach him some lessons.”
 "Economic Survey 2026 Live Updates: Economic Survey 2026 Live Updates: ‘Trade no longer reciprocal, markets no longer neutral’")
 "Robust growth, record demand and low inflation: Key takeaways from Economic Survey 2026")
 "Did the IAF bomb Pakistan’s Kirana Hills during Op Sindoor? A video suggests…")
 "10-20% chance of 2008-like global financial crisis in 2026: Economic Survey")
 "Economic Survey 2026 Live Updates: Economic Survey 2026 Live Updates: ‘Trade no longer reciprocal, markets no longer neutral’")
 "Robust growth, record demand and low inflation: Key takeaways from Economic Survey 2026")
 "Did the IAF bomb Pakistan’s Kirana Hills during Op Sindoor? A video suggests…")
 "10-20% chance of 2008-like global financial crisis in 2026: Economic Survey")
