Indian chess prodigy D Gukesh finished at the bottom of the table at the recently concluded Clutch Chess: Champions Showdown, despite leading the standings after Day 1. The tournament was won by world champion Magnus Carlsen, who dominated the event and defeated Gukesh in five of their six encounters, with one game ending in a draw.
Fabiano Caruana secured second place, while Hikaru Nakamura took the third spot. Reflecting on his performance, Gukesh admitted that the tournament did not go as planned. “Obviously not great. The first day was quite promising. I started off quite well, but the second and third days were just completely off. At some point, it was very tough to start getting wins, and when it’s like that against this opposition, it usually goes downhill quite fast,” he said.
Gukesh is now preparing for the FIDE Chess World Cup, where he will enter as the top seed. The prestigious event begins on November 1, and top players like Carlsen, Caruana, and Nakamura have opted to skip the competition.
“But overall, great experience, especially before the FIDE World Cup. I mean, there are no better training partners than these three (Carlsen, Nakamura and Caruana). So the good thing is these three won’t be there in the World Cup. So, I had a better training than what I’ll be facing. So, I hope it helps,” Gukesh added with a smile.
The upcoming World Cup will serve as vital preparation for Gukesh, who is set to defend his world championship title next year. The top three finishers at the tournament will qualify for the 2026 Candidates event. The World Cup will feature an eight-round knockout format, with the top 50 seeds receiving a bye into the second round. Additionally, the two semifinal losers will play a separate match to determine the third-place finisher.
