India, Feb. 10 -- D Gukesh suffered a defeat against Fabiano Caruana in the opening match of their quarter-final encounter at the Weissenhaus Resort in Wangels, Germany. This contest marks the first leg of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour.

The two grandmasters engaged in a fiercely contested match, which stood out as the most intense among the quarter-final games played on Sunday. However, Gukesh's vulnerabilities in Chess960 were once again evident as Caruana intensified his assault on the reigning world champion. The 32-year-old clinched victory with a stunning 40.Rf3!! move, rendering his passed pawn unstoppable.

Gukesh had opportunities to secure a win earlier in the game, but he made a critical error on the 33rd move while both players were under three minutes on the clock.

Prior to the quarter-finals, many fans were taken aback when Caruana chose Gukesh as his opponent, especially given the Indian grandmaster's remarkable performance in Singapore and at the recently concluded Tata Masters. In contrast, Caruana had a disappointing run at Wijk aan Zee.

Following his victory on Sunday, Caruana elaborated on his decision to select Gukesh as his quarter-final opponent during an interview with the Take Take Take application. He remarked, "The reality is that I must choose someone. I could simply flip a coin, but both players are exceptionally strong. Gukesh might be around 2790, while Nodirbek could be approximately 2780. There isn't a significant qualitative difference between them. Gukesh, however, possesses greater experience in competing for the World Championship, which is invaluable, having faced more high-pressure situations than Nodirbek. On the other hand, Nodirbek has his strengths in applying pressure on his adversaries, although this approach does not always yield success."

"Today, for instance, he may have played a bit hastily and without sufficient caution. Yet, that can be quite perilous. Thus, it is somewhat of a gamble. For me, Gukesh represented more of an unknown factor compared to Nodirbek in certain respects. We have considerable experience against one another, having played a match here last year. I had already concluded that if it came down to it, Nodirbek would likely still be in the running, as I believed Sindarov would not choose his compatriot. Therefore, I thought that if the choice was between Nodirbek and Hikaru, I would likely opt for Nodirbek. Conversely, if it were between Gukesh and Nodirbek, or Gukesh and Hikaru, I would probably select Gukesh," he further explained.

In the current Grand Slam Tour, players who rank in the top four during the round-robin phase of each leg are granted the opportunity to choose their opponents from those finishing in the fifth to eighth positions. Gukesh secured the eighth position in the standings, thereby earning a place in the quarter-finals. 

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