World Champion D Gukesh beats fellow GenZ star Nodirbek to get back to winning ways
D Gukesh won his second round game in the Sinquefield Cup against Nodirbek Abdusattorov.
D Gukesh won his second round game in the Sinquefield Cup against Nodirbek Abdusattorov.
D Gukesh won his second round game in the Sinquefield Cup against Nodirbek Abdusattorov.
World Champion D Gukesh showed his class in the second round of the Grand Chess Tour: Sinquefield Cup by winning a wild game against Uzbek star Nodirbek Abdusattorov.
Indian GM Gukesh had lost the first round to his compatriot R Praggnanandhaa. It meant the game against Nodirbek was always going to be an exciting affair, considering the two are not the best of friends, at least based on how they reacted to each other in recent events.
Nodirbek castled queenside and invited a barrage of attacks. He must have hoped to capitalise on a passed pawn on the sixth rank, but Gukesh had other ideas, refusing to part with the queens going into the endgame.
Nordirbek was forced to resign after move 50 when Gukesh had swept through the isolated pawns and given himself a clear winning chance.
In February this year, Gukesh (19) and Nodirbek (20) played for an impossible result in a Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour game. Nodirbek refused to settle for a draw despite having just two knights on the board, which is not sufficient material to checkmate an opponent's king, not least at the elite level.
Nevertheless, a timely win in the Sinquefield Cup has eased the pressure of Gukesh, who is yet to win a title since clinching the World Chess Championship last December.
Praggnanandhaa drew with Fabiano Caruana to remain tied with Levon Aronian and Alireza Firouzja on 1.5 points after two rounds.