D Gukesh lost to Fabiano Caruana in the first game of their ongoing quarter-final clash at the Weissenhaus leg, of the ongoing Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour. Gukesh was handpicked by Caruana after the round-robin stage, and the India No. 1 crashed to a second straight loss. He had also lost to Magnus Carlsen in the final round of the preliminary stage.

Gukesh and Caruana will meet again on Monday and the reigning world champion will look to stage a comeback.

Gukesh’s weakness in non-classical format was perfectly showcased once again, as it had been in his defeat to Carlsen. It started off on an equal note, but soon the momentum shifted to Caruana’s favour, who secured the win with a sensational 40…Rf3!!

It was only on the 33rd move that Gukesh made the decisive blunder, and by that time both players were under three minutes. The game ended with Gukesh giving a long stare at the board and realising that Caruana was on course to give him checkmate and there was nothing he could do about it. On realization, the India No. 1 resigned.

The game turned out to be an all-out brawl initially, and it reached its climax when both players ended up on the 30-second increment added on each move, with no time added at move 40.

WATCH: D Gukesh resigns vs Fabiano Caruana

Following his victory, Caruana elaborated on his choice of Gukesh as his quarter-final opponent, despite the Indian Grandmaster's strong performance. In an interview with the Take Take Take application, he remarked, “Ultimately, I had to make a selection. I could have left it to chance, but both players are exceptionally skilled. Gukesh is likely around 2790, while Nodirbek might be close to 2780. The difference in their abilities is not substantial. Gukesh possesses more experience in World Championship play, which is invaluable, having faced numerous high-pressure situations compared to Nodirbek. However, Nodirbek has his strengths, particularly in applying pressure on his adversaries, although this approach can sometimes backfire.”

“Today, for instance, he may have played a bit too quickly and without sufficient caution. This can be quite perilous. It was a difficult decision for me. In some respects, Gukesh represented more of an unknown factor than Nodirbek. We have a considerable history of competition, having faced each other in a match here last year. I had anticipated that Nodirbek would still be in the running, as I believed Sindarov would likely avoid selecting his compatriot. Therefore, I concluded that if it came down to Nodirbek and Hikaru, I would choose Nodirbek. Conversely, if the choice was between Gukesh and Nodirbek, or Gukesh and Hikaru, I would lean towards Gukesh,” he concluded.

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