India, Feb. 9 -- Current world champion D Gukesh is set to face off against Fabiano Caruana in the quarter-finals of the Weissenhaus leg of the ongoing Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour this Sunday. Gukesh, who is ranked No. 1 in India, ended up losing to Magnus Carlsen in the last round of the round-robin stage, placing him in eighth position, which was the last spot for qualification. Throughout the tournament, he managed to secure seven draws and two losses, revealing some struggles in the shorter formats.

In this Grand Slam Tour, the top four players from the preliminary round get to choose their opponents from those who finish in fifth to eighth place. Alireza Firouzja, who topped the standings, selected sixth-placed Vincent Keymer as his quarter-final rival. On the other hand, Javokhir Sindarov, who came in second, chose Hikaru Nakamura, who finished fifth.

Caruana, who took third place, chose Gukesh as his opponent for the quarter-finals. They had an intense draw during the preliminary round. Meanwhile, Magnus Carlsen, finishing in fourth, will face Nodirbek Abdusattorov. On another note, Vladimir Fedoseev and Levon Aronian are set to compete for ninth place.

Gukesh faced some tough losses in the round-robin phase, including a lopsided defeat against Firouzja. He also lost to Carlsen, resigning in the endgame. Even though he didn’t manage to secure a win, Gukesh is still seen as a strong contender for the title, having demonstrated his skills at last year's Candidates and World Championship. He was also very close to winning the Tata Masters this year, but R Praggnanandhaa made a late comeback to take the tie-breaker title.

After beating Gukesh, Carlsen was clearly enjoying his victory, especially since it was one of the most anticipated matches for fans, pitting the reigning world champion against the World No. 1. In his post-match comments, Carlsen said, "Honestly, I don’t think there was ever a moment in the game where he realistically had a chance to win. He’s gone for wins before, but I felt like the odds were always in my favor, especially with the time situation. Typically, when things start to go wrong, players tend to crumble because once I get my pieces in motion, that pawn becomes unstoppable."

Read Also: Varun Chakravarthy Becomes India's Second-Oldest Debutant; Shreyas Iyer Faces Virat Kohli's Return in Second ODI Against England

Get the latest Bollywood entertainment news, trending celebrity news, latest celebrity news, new movie reviews, latest entertainment news, latest Bollywood news, and Bollywood celebrity fashion & style updates!

HOW DID YOU LIKE THIS ARTICLE? CHOOSE YOUR EMOTICON!