File image of D Gukesh.© X (Twitter)

File photo of D Gukesh.© AFP

File photo of R Praggnanandhaa.© FIDE

Chess legend Magnus Carlsen slammed world champion D Gukesh’s strategy during the Indian Grandmaster’s match against Nodirbek Abdusattorov of Uzbekistan in the sixth round of the Tata Steel chess tournament at Wijk Aan Zee, The Netherlands. D Gukesh played out a draw with overnight joint leader Abdusattorov. With only decisive game in the 14-player round-robin tournament at the De Morian on Saturday, Abdusattorov and R Praggnanandhaa continued to share the lead on 4.5 points out of a possible six and Gukesh is right on the toes of the leaders with four points.

Seven rounds are still left in the first major tournament of the year.

Carlsen, who was in the commentary panel for Chess24, criticised Gukesh while praising his opponent Abdusattorov.

“Gukesh’s strategy has been a spectacular failure,” Carlsen said.

Talking about Abdusattorov, Carlsen said, “As soon as he gets his chance, he’s ruthless. He calculates perfectly, he feels the momentum, and mentally he’s right there. It’s been very, very impressive!”

P Harikrishna, Alexey Sarana of Serbia and Vladimir Fedoseev of Slovenia share the fourth spot on 3.5 points each and are within the striking distance of the leaders.

Gukesh held his ground in a challenging endgame against Abdusattorov, escaping with a draw after 64 moves.

The game began with the Italian Opening, leading to an equal middlegame.

However, as complications arose, Abdusattorov seized a persistent advantage and handled the position skillfully.

In the endgame, Gukesh was forced to concede a pawn, and the situation worsened when Abdusattorov sacrificed his knight for three pawns, putting the Indian under significant pressure.

Despite being in a difficult position, Gukesh once again showcased his defensive resilience, capitalising on an inaccuracy by his opponent to salvage a hard-fought draw.

Results (Round 6) Masters: Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzb, 4.5) drew with D Gukesh (Ind, 4); Leon Luke Mendonca (Ind, 1.5) drew with Max Warmerdam (Ned, 2.5); Arjun Erigaisi (Ind, 1.5) drew with Fabiano Caruana (Usa, 3); R Praggnanandhaa (Ind, 4.5) drew with Wei Yi (Chn, 3); P Harikrishna (Ind, 3.5) drew with Jorden van Foreest (Ned, 2); Vincent Keymer (Ger, 3) drew with Anish Giri (Ned, 2.5); Alexey Sarana (Srb, 3.5) beat Vladimir Fedoseev (Slo, 3.5).

Challengers: Nodirbek Yakubboev (Uzb, 3) drew with Frederik Svane (Ger, 2.5); Irina Bulmaga (Rom, 1) drew with R Vaishali (Ind, 3.5); Benjamin Bok (Ned, 4) drew with Nogerbek Kazybek (Kaz, 3.5); Arthur Pijpers(Ned, 2) drew with Miaoyi Lu (Chn, 3.5); Divya Deshmukh (Ind, 1.5) lost to Faustino Oro (Arg, 2.5); Nguyen Thai Dai Van (Cze, 4) drew with Erwin L’Ami (Ned, 4.5); Aydin Suleymanli (Aze, 2.5) vs Ediz Gurel (Tur, 2.5).

(With PTI Inputs)

File photo of Magnus Carlsen.© FIDE

File image of D Gukesh.© AFP

Chess Grandmaster Koneru Humpy met Prime Minister Narendra Modi.© X/@humpy_koneru

Magnus Carlsen and Ian Nepomniachtchi’s decision to share the World Blitz Championship title for the first time in history has sent shockwaves through the chess community, sparking widespread criticism. World number one Carlsen and Russia’s Nepomniachtchi shared the Blitz title after three sudden-death games failed to produce a winner. This was the first time that the title was awarded to two players after the Norwegian asked whether it could be shared given the deadlock. The move has drawn sharp criticism, with former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik slamming the international chess federation for not thinking of a rule for such scenario.

“Of course, some might wonder if FIDE should have thought a bit making the regulations concerning final WC match situation like that, but understandable, a lot of time and energy was spent on the jeans clause, the person writing the regulations was already tired by then,” Kramnik said.

He was referring to FIDE’s recent revision of its dress code policy. Carlsen had been disqualified from the Rapid section last week after arriving in jeans and refusing to switch to formal trousers.

Following the incident, he withdrew from the Blitz event, prompting FIDE to revise its stance and permit players to compete in jeans, which ultimately led to Carlsen’s participation. US Grandmaster Hans Niemann, who was beaten by Carlsen earlier in the tournament, wrote a series of post on X.

“The chess world is officially a joke. THIS HAS NEVER BEEN DONE IN HISTORY. I can’t believe that the official body of chess is being controlled by a singular player FOR THE 2ND TIME THIS WEEK. THERE CAN ONLY BE ONE WORLD CHAMPION!” Niemann wrote. “FIDE goes from forfeiting Carlsen to creating an entirely new rule. Seems like the the regulatory body of chess, has no intention of being unbiased. They seem to only care about what one player thinks,” he added.

Soon a clip started circulating on social media where the Carlsen was heard telling Nepomniachtchi “if “FIDE refuse (to allow us to share title), we can just play short draws until they give up.” This prompted Niemann to call for an investigation.

“This is cause for an investigation by the FIDE Ethics committee. I can’t believe that 2 players who maliciously accused me and tried to ruin my career are openly breaking the rules. The irony simply can’t get any worse,” Niemann later wrote.

American-Hungarian chess grandmaster Susan Polgar pointed out that Nepomniachtchi and Daniil Dubov had been docked points for playing out a draw at last year’s event.

The two had made their knights hop around the board before agreeing to a draw.

“What is the difference between the famous “Knight Dance” and “Title Share”? I hope some arbiters can explain the “rules” to me,” she wrote.

Indian grandmaster Srinath Narayanan said: “Criticism of the regulations and using it as an excuse is nonsense here. The Wimbledon 2019 final lasted 4 hours and 57 minutes. Novak Djokovic won the 5th set 13-12 and won Wimbledon 2019. They didn’t make a pact to share the trophy or ‘keep losing one point each until they give up’.”

Arjun Erigaisi maintained his rating of 2801 and retained the fourth spot while newly-crowned World Classical World Champion Gukesh Dommaraju occupied the fifth position in the classical Open section in the first ranking list of 2025 released by International Chess Federation (FIDE) on Wednesday. Erigaisi, the second Indian after Viswanathan Anand to cross the exalted 2800 rating in classical chess, has a rating of 2801 and is just one ELO behind American Hikaru Nakamura (2802). Another American Fabiano Caruana (2803) is a further one ELO ahead at No. 2 position in a hot chase for the second spot behind Magnus Carlsen, who leads the chart with a rating of 2831.

Gukesh, who defeated China’s Ding Liren — ranked 22nd with a rating of 2728 — to win the World Championship title in Singapore a couple of weeks back, completes the top five with a rating of 2783.

Five-time World Champion Viswanathan Anand is the third Indian in the top ten, placed 10th in the rankings with a rating of 2750.

Representing the healthy nature of Indian chess following the country’s gold medal-winning performance in the Chess Olympiad in Budapest, there are nine players from the country in the Top 50 with Praggnanandhaa at 13th with a rating of 2741, VR Aravindh Chithambaram (2726) at 23rd, Vidit Santosh Gujrathi (2721) at 24th spot followed by Pentala Harikrishna (2695) at 36th, Nihal Sarin (2687) at 41st and Raunak Sadhwani (2675) at 48th position.

Among the other Indians, Murali Karthikeyan (2651) is at 77th position followed by Leon Luke Mendonca (2639) at 95th, S.L Narayanan (2638) at 9th and Abhimanyu Puranik (2636) at the 100th position.

In the women’s section, Chinese players occupy the top four places in the classical rankings, with former World Champion Hou Yifan occupying the top spot with a 2633 ELO rating followed by Ju Wenjun (2561) at second, Tan Zhongyi (2561) at third and Lei Tingjie (2552) at fourth.

India’s Koneru Humpy is placed sixth with a rating of 2523 and is the lone Indian in the top 10 in women’s rankings. Divya Deshmukh with a rating of 2490 is ranked 14th with Dronavalli Harika

(2489) is two spots behind at 16th.

Vaishali Rameshbabu, the third Indian woman to be awarded the Grandmaster title, is ranked 19th with a rating of 2476. Vantika Agrawal, a key member of the Indian team that won the women’s gold medal in the 35th Chess Olympiad in Budapest, is ranked 39th with a rating of 2411. Tania Sachdev is 51st with a rating of 2396 followed by P.V. Nandhidhaa (2380) at 65th, Bhakti Kulkarni (2357) at 83rd, Padmini Rout (2356) at 85th and Velpula Sarayu (2347) at 95 completing the top-100.

In the junior men’s section, World Champion Gukesh is ranked No.1 with Praggnanandhaa close behind in second position.

The youngest-ever World Champion in the history of the game, Gukesh Dommaraju met with one of the leading business tycoons of the country, Gautam Adani, who heaped praise on the 18-year-old Indian Grandmaster for his tremendous achievement in the world of Chess. Gukesh, who scripted history by becoming the youngest-ever World Champion in chess, beat Ding Liren of China in the 14-game match in Singapore. The 18-year-old from Chennai capitalised on a blunder by Ding in the winner-takes-all 14th game to dethrone the reigning champion, winning the match 7.5 to 6.5 and become the second Indian after Viswanathan Anand to become the World Champion in classical chess.

“It was an absolute privilege to meet and hear the victory story of reigning World Chess Champion @DGukesh. Equally inspiring was meeting his incredible parents, Dr. Rajinikanth and Dr. Padmavathi, whose quiet sacrifices laid the foundation for his success.

“At just 18, Gukesh’s poise and brilliance are a testament to India’s unstoppable youth. Prodigies like him are inspiring a new generation, building an army of champions ready to dominate global chess for decades. This is the confident, resurgent, and rising India. Jai Hind!,” read the post by Adani on X.

Gukesh broke the four-decade-old record of chess legend Garry Kasparov, who won the title in 1985 at the age of 22 years, 6 months, and 27 days. Gukesh is the second Indian to win the World Chess Championship title, claiming the title in just over a decade after five-time winner Viswanathan Anand had lost the title to Magnus Carlsen of Norway in Chennai in 2013. Carlsen abdicated the crown in 2023, paving the way for Ding to beat Ian Nepomniachtchi.

Adani’s prediction of Indian youngsters dominating chess has already begun with prodigious talents like Vaishali Rameshbabu, who has been awarded the title of Grandmaster by FIDE. Vaishali is the third Indian female Grandmaster, joining Koneru Humpy and Harika Dronavalli.

India’s chess team also made history at the 45th Chess Olympiad in Hungary, clinching gold in both the Open and Women’s sections. The women’s team secured the first-ever gold medal in this prestigious event. The year ended with Koneru Humpy regaining the Women’s World Rapid Chess Championship after a gap of five years and Vaishali bagging the bronze in World Blitz Chess Championship on the final day of the year. The 37-year-old Humpy from Vijayawada finished with 8.5 points after beating Indonesia’s Irene Sukandar in the final round in New York.

In his response, Gukesh thanked the chairman of the Adani Group for inviting him and hoped that Indian chess would grow further with his support.

“Thanks, @gautam_adani Sir for inviting and meeting us and enjoyed the interaction we had and (was) impressed by the interest and vision shown towards the betterment of our youth, talent recognition, and development! Hope Chess in our country gets a further boost with your support for the sport!” Gukesh said in his post on X.

Thanks @gautam_adani Sir for inviting and meeting us and enjoyed the interaction we had and impressed by the interest and vision shown towards the betterment of our youth, talent recognition and development !

Hope Chess in our country gets further boost with your support for the… https://t.co/8VaNGvmJSV

— Gukesh D (@DGukesh) January 1, 2025