World No. 3 stumped as Gukesh maintains heart rate in 60s under immense pressure

World No. 3 Fabiano Caruana thinks D Gukesh and Magnus Carlsen have something peculiar in common: Remaining ice cold under pressure.

Caruana was super impressed when reminded of the readings on the heart rate monitors on him and Gukesh during their first game in the quarterfinals of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour at Weissenhaus in Germany.

Commentator David Howell told Caruana that his heart rate was significantly higher (ranging between 100 and 120). "Gukesh's was around 60-70 the whole time, even during time scramble". Heart rate is measured in beats per minute (bpm). The normal heart rate for healthy adults is between 60 to 80 bpm.

"His was around 70?" a shocked Caruana enquired. "That's quite impressive... also, Magnus's heart rate doesn't elevate much," said the American Super GM, who remembered his heart rate had spiked to around 170 during a game against Levon Aronian last year.

Caruana wasn't the only one shocked to see Gukesh remain calm under immense pressure. Grandmasters Peter Leko and Judit Polgar, who were also doing commentary on the event, were stunned. "Who is he? Now we know why he's the world champion. If he can maintain his heart rate in such a position, it is amazing," GM Leko said.

Caruana defeated Gukesh in the first game that was on a knife edge for the most part. The two will play the decisive second game of their knockout game later today.

Heartrate monitors are used in several sports, often to track how players manage stress and emotions. Though it is commonly used in sports involving physical activity, use of heart rate monitors in sedantry activities such as chess, shows how intense the board game can be.