Gukesh opens up on World Rapid Championship dip after strong start: 'Little below expectations'

Reigning world champion Gukesh Dommaraju has opened up about his performance at the FIDE World Rapid Chess Championship 2025, admitting that things did not go according to plan after a strong start on the opening day of the tournament in Doha.

Gukesh began the World Rapid Championship on a positive note and was part of the leading group after the first day, along with Magnus Carlsen and Arjun Erigaisi. However, the Indian grandmaster found it tougher to convert games into wins over the next two days, which eventually saw him slip down the standings.

“It started off quite well on the first day and then the wins started getting harder to come in the second and third day. But overall, I think I had a decent performance. Little below expectations after the first day, but that’s fine,” Gukesh said while reflecting on his campaign after the first day of World Blitz Championship.

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Gukesh on whether he is enjoying Doha

He spoke about his mindset coming into the Rapid and Blitz tournament, where he had stressed on enjoying and experimenting. “I mean for sure. I think rapid the first day I was surely enjoying. When you start losing, it’s not very enjoyable anymore. But yeah, the blitz I think that’s the main goal, to enjoy as much as possible,” he added.

At the World Rapid Championship, Carlsen emerged as champion in the Open section. India’s Arjun Erigaisi impressed with a bronze medal finish, while Aravindh Chithambaram was the next best Indian, finishing 16th with 8.5 points. Nihal Sarin placed 19th, just ahead of Gukesh, who ended the tournament in 20th position with the same points tally. Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa finished 28th.

Gukesh’s struggles continued into the World Blitz Championship, where he suffered a shock defeat in the third round against 12-year-old FIDE Master Sergey Sklokin. The loss came after a costly blunder under severe time pressure. After 11 of the 19 rounds in the Blitz event, Gukesh is not placed inside the top 20.

12-year-old FM Sergey Skolkin takes down World Champion D Gukesh in World Blitz Championship
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Edit: Tushar Damor
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