The reigning world champion, D Gukesh, is set to face Fabiano Caruana in the quarter-finals of the Weissenhaus leg of the ongoing Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour this Sunday. Gukesh, ranked as India's No. 1, concluded the round-robin stage in eighth place after suffering a defeat to Magnus Carlsen in the final round. His performance included seven draws and two losses, revealing challenges in shorter formats of the game.

In this Grand Slam Tour, the top four players from the preliminary round standings have the opportunity to choose their opponents from those finishing in fifth to eighth place. Alireza Firouzja, who secured the top position, selected Vincent Keymer, who finished sixth, as his quarter-final rival. Additionally, Javokhir Sindarov, who placed second, opted to compete against Hikaru Nakamura, who ended the preliminary round in fifth place.

Fabiano Caruana picks D Gukesh

Caruana, who secured third place, opted to select Gukesh as his opponent for the quarter-finals. The two had previously engaged in a remarkable draw during the preliminary round. Conversely, Magnus Carlsen, finishing in fourth place, was matched against Nodirbek Abdusattorov. Additionally, Vladimir Fedoseev and Levon Aronian are set to compete for the ninth position.

Gukesh experienced defeats during the round-robin phase, notably against Firouzja, who achieved a decisive victory. He also lost to Carlsen, resigning in the endgame. Despite not achieving a win, Gukesh remains a strong contender for the title, having demonstrated his capabilities at the Candidates and World Championship last year. Furthermore, he came close to winning the Tata Masters this year, but a late surge from R Praggnanandhaa resulted in the 19-year-old securing the title through a tie-breaker.

Following his victory over Gukesh, Carlsen was seen reveling in his success, as this match was highly anticipated by fans, featuring the reigning world champion against the World No. 1. In his post-match comments, Carlsen remarked, “I believe there was never a moment in the game where it was realistic for him to aim for a win. While he has pursued victories in the past, I felt that the practical chances were consistently in my favor, particularly with the time situation. Typically, when things begin to deteriorate, they tend to collapse, as my pieces gain momentum, and that pawn, if not addressed, becomes unstoppable.”

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