 "D Gukesh fails to win a single game in Freestyle Chess Tour event in Weissenhaus, finishes 8th after losing to Alireza Firouzja")
Gukesh Dommaraju had arrived at the Weissenhaus Private Nature Luxury Resort in Germany’s Baltic coast to the north with the spotlight firmly on him. The 18-year-old Indian chess sensation, after all, had been crowned the youngest world champion in the history of the sport as recently as December, defeating China’s Ding Liren in the final.
He would then highlight the fact that the triumph in Singapore was no fluke by nearly winning the Tata Steel Chess event in Wijk aan Zee, Netherlands the following month, losing to compatriot R Praggnanandhaa in the tie-breaks to finish runner-up for a second consecutive year.
It was in Weissenhaus where Gukesh came face-to-face with world No 1 and Freestyle Chess co-founder Magnus Carlsen for the first time since winning the World Championship. Some from the Indian chess community had even backed him to end up on the winning side against the Norwegian who is regarded as one of the greatest players of all time.
Gukesh struggles like never before in an unfamiliar format
Few, however, would have expected him to struggle in the tournament, to the point where he would not only finish close to the bottom of the 10-player standings, but leave the resort without a single victory. Gukesh had one last change to sign off on a winning note in Weissenhaus on Friday – the eighth and final day of the event – in Game 2 of the seventh-place playoff against Alireza Firouzja after Game 1 had ended in a stalemate.
International Master Tania Sachdev was on commentary duty in Weissenhaus along with British GM David Howell, American IM and popular streamer Levy Rozman among others, and she had noted that Gukesh appeared to have mentally checked out of the tournament during his seventh-place game against Firouzja.
Also Read | Magnus Carlsen on world champion D Gukesh: 'He was trying to do a little bit too much'
That certainly appeared the case for Gukesh towards the end as the accuracy of his moves took a major hit, and he was allowing the Iranian-French GM to seize the game with a series of errors. On Friday, it was his blunder in his 19th move that allowed Firouzja – who had defeated him in their second-round rapid game on the opening day – to seize control of the proceedings and eventually box Gukesh into a corner and force him to raise his white flag.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsWith his 0.5-1.5 defeat in the seventh-place playoff, Gukesh finished with 11 draws and six losses in rapid as well as Classical time controls across eight days of competition. For a player who had a terrific run in 2024, in which he had also become the youngest Candidates champion and starred in India’s golden sweep at the 45th Olympiad, the Weissenhaus campaign is nothing short of a debacle.
Also Read | Gukesh's steady heart-rate stands out in Weissenhaus despite underwhelming campaign
Maybe Gukesh does need a proper break before coming back stronger. And no, we’re not talking about a “break” where he is busy attending award functions and meeting top dignitaries including Prime Minister Narendra Modi. But one where he is switched off for some time, allowing his gifted mind to refocus.
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