D Gukesh's disappointing performance in Fischer Random chess persisted as he succumbed to time constraints on Wednesday during the initial leg of the Freestyle Grand Slam Tour held in Weissenhaus, Wangels (Germany). The reigning World Champion faced defeat against Hikaru Nakamura in the playoff match for the 5-8 classification. Ultimately, the World No. 3 triumphed with a score of 1.5-0.5 in the rapid tiebreaker round.

The encounter proved challenging for both Grandmasters, who have struggled with their form recently. In the rapid tiebreaker, the first game ended in a draw, with Nakamura playing as White. However, the seasoned player delivered a decisive victory in the subsequent game, this time competing with the black pieces.

Hikaru Nakamura points out D Gukesh's ‘biggest weakness’

In an interview with Chess.com, Nakamura highlighted Gukesh's challenges with time management, as well as his intuition and calculation skills.

"I would identify Gukesh's most significant weakness as his performance under time pressure; his intuition seems to falter, and he struggles to navigate through the calculations," he stated.

During the Weissenhaus Grand Slam event, all participants engaged in discussions with one another before and between matches, with the exception of Gukesh. The top player from India has been observed analyzing games in solitude and tends to avoid interaction with others prior to a game. Nakamura expressed that this behaviour represents a considerable disadvantage for Gukesh, particularly since he does not analyze games with someone like Fabiano Caruana, who easily defeated him in the quarter-finals.

"I believe that not engaging in joint analysis can only hinder your performance. I am perplexed as to why Gukesh does not collaborate with Fabiano. To me, that seems quite irrational. Whether I am analyzing alongside Fabiano or not, I always review his games and attempt to emulate his strategies. I have great faith in Fabiano, which makes it much simpler to do so," he remarked.

Gukesh is now looking to regain his winning momentum and secure his first victory in the Freestyle Grand Slam Tour as he faces Alireza Firouzja in the playoff for seventh place. The two grandmasters previously met during the round-robin phase, where Firouzja emerged victorious with ease.

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