 "Turkish GM Ediz Gurel receives a hero's welcome on his first day back in school after defeating world champion D Gukesh in the FIDE Grand Swiss. Image credit: Screengrab/Chess.com")
Turkish Grandmaster Ediz Gurel received a hero’s welcome back home after his stellar performance at the FIDE Grand Swiss in Uzbekistan’s Samarkand, where he defeated reigning world champion D Gukesh and finished with a commendable tally of 5.5 points out of 11, ahead of senior players such as Levon Aronian and Boris Gelfand.
A video shared by Chess.com showed Gurel, who will be turning 17 this December, being welcomed by a massive crowd on his first day back in school, with students as well as faculty members waving Turkish flags upon his arrival.
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Gurel’s school takes pride in teenager’s incredible achievement
Emine Ornek Egitim Kurumlari, the school Gurel is a student at, also shared a video on their Instagram account, expressing pride over his victory over Gukesh.
“Our student, National chess player, Grandmaster Ediz Gürel, 7th FIDE Grand Swiss, organized in Uzbekistan. India defeated World Champion Dommaraju Gukesh in his tour.
“Thus, he became the first Turkish chess player to win while holding the title against World Chess Champion,” read the caption of the Instagram post.
Gurel had pulled off the biggest win of his career in 52 moves while playing as white in the seventh round, capitalising on a mistake (46. Bxa3) committed by his celebrated opponent to force a resignation shortly after.
It was Gukesh’s third consecutive defeat after the 19-year-old lost to 16-year-old American GM Abhimanyu Mishra as well as Greek GM Nikolas Theodorou in the previous rounds, sparking concerns over his current form as well as his ability to defend his world championship next year.
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Gukesh would eventually finish with 6 points out of 11, marginally ahead of Gurel, who had played out draws against Germany’s Vincent Keymer and India’s Pentala Harikrishna, with his only other victory coming against Dutch GM Max Warmerdam.
Gurel had made headlines for becoming the youngest Turkish GM ever, attaining the title after securing his third norm by winning the ‘Challengers’ section of the Prague Chess Festival at the age of 15. His record, however, would later be broken by Yağız Kaan Erdoğmuş.
Gukesh had also won an individual bronze medal at the 45th Chess Olympiad, where Gukesh had won gold on Board 1.