Gukesh Faces Tough Day at St. Louis Rapid & Blitz Chess

St. Louis (US), Aug 13 (PTI) - The reigning World Champion, D Gukesh, experienced a challenging day at the St. Louis Rapid and Blitz, part of the Grand Chess Tour. Gukesh ended the day with one loss and two draws, placing him somewhere in the middle of this 10-player tournament.

Gukesh faced a surprising defeat against the American tailender Sam Shankland in the fourth round. He then drew his subsequent games against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave from France and Nodirbek Abdusattorov of Uzbekistan.

The tournament witnessed a dramatic shift in leadership. Fabiano Caruana, the top-ranked American participant, made a strong showing by securing a win against the overnight leader, the Armenian-turned-American Levon Aronian, in the final game, catapulting him to a two-point lead.

Aronian, similar to Gukesh, managed only two draws and suffered one defeat during the day.

With three rounds remaining in the rapid, Caruana leads with 10 points out of a possible 12. He appears poised to win this section, which offers him a potential advantage as the tournament transitions to the blitz section, featuring a double round-robin of 18 rounds.

Aronian, tied with fellow American Wesley So, remains in contention in second place with eight points. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave follows closely in fourth with seven points, while Gukesh shares the subsequent position alongside Leinier Dominguez Perez, originally from Cuba but now representing the USA.

Nodirbek Abdusattorov of Uzbekistan and Liem Le Quang of Vietnam are tied for the seventh spot with five points. Two points behind them is Grigoriy Oparin, an ex-Russian now competing for the USA. Rounding out the standings is Sam Shankland, who finds solace in his notable victory over Gukesh, earning him two points.

The Indian chess sensation had a promising recovery after his initial loss to Aronian by securing back-to-back wins. However, in the match against Shankland, Gukesh's complex strategy didn’t pan out as intended. Known for his tactical prowess, Shankland capitalized on Gukesh's errors, clinching victory with precise mid-game calculations.

Gukesh opted for stability against Vachier-Lagrave, ending with a draw. His game versus Abdusattorov saw little opportunity for advancement, concluding in a stalemate after 60 moves.

The results in round 4 were marked by a draw between Leinier Dominguez Perez and Levon Aronian. Sam Shankland triumphed over D Gukesh, while Nodirbek Abdusattorov defeated Grigoriy Oparin. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Liem Le Quang also drew, as did Wesley So and Fabiano Caruana.

Round 5 saw Gukesh draw with Vachier-Lagrave; Wesley So drew with Aronian. Caruana bested Shankland, and there were draws in the matches between Liem and Abdusattorov, as well as Dominguez and Oparin.

In round 6, Gukesh and Abdusattorov drew, Caruana emerged victorious over Aronian, Shankland lost to Vachier-Lagrave, and Liem and Dominguez as well as Wesley So and Oparin ended in draws.

Standings after round 6 are led by Caruana with 10 points, followed by Aronian and Wesley So tied with eight each, Vachier-Lagrave with seven, Gukesh and Dominguez with six each, Liem and Abdusattorov with five each, Oparin with three, and Shankland with two.

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