By Paramita Datta
World champion D. Gukesh will take on women’s World Cup victor Divya Deshmukh in a thrilling matchup between two 19-year-old Indian Grandmasters in the eighth round of the FIDE Grand Swiss in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, on Friday.
Gukesh started the tournament with two victories and two ties. Nevertheless, he proceeded into the eighth round following three consecutive defeats to USA’s Abhimanyu Mishra, Greek Nikolas Theodorou, and Turkiye’s Ediz Gurel.
Less than a year has passed since Gukesh was crowned the king of the 64 squares sport, yet it already seems he has become a target. And those attempting to bring down the 19-year-old are becoming increasingly younger. At Grand Swiss, he has drawn with 14-year-old Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus, suffered a loss to 16-year-old American GM Abhimanyu Mishra, and recently lost to another Turkish 16-year-old, Ediz Gurel. He also finished with a draw against Arjun Erigaisi. He further suffered a loss to Greek grandmaster Nikolas Theodorou between his defeats to Mishra and Gurel.
Within chess communities, there exists a casual club, and its membership grows slightly every year. It is named the Mikhail Chigorin Club, after the Soviet Union player who competed in two World Championship matches against Wilhelm Steinitz but regrettably lost both. One can attain membership in the Mikhail Chigorin Club by overcoming a current world champion in a classical chess match.
The tournament is living up to its reputation for being perilous to the established order. Arjun Erigaisi, similarly to Gukesh as a pre-tournament favorite, suffered a loss to German grandmaster Matthias Bluebaum, who is precisely 100 rating points lower than the Indian. Arjun carelessly lost a piece during the match. With the win, Bluebaum climbed to the summit of the rankings, where he joined Nihal. Bluebaum also overcame Praggnanandhaa previously in the tournament.
On Friday, in round 8, Gukesh will face Indian Divya Deshmukh, who has boldly chosen to enter the open section of the Grand Swiss rather than the women’s division. Divya has clinched her place in the Women’s Candidates tournament by triumphing in the Women’s FIDE World Cup in July.
On Thursday, it was reported that Gukesh gained the advantage after Gurel made a mistake on move 27, and the queens were traded on move 29. Nonetheless, it was observed that on move 40, right after he reached the time control limit, Gukesh made a mistake, which changed the outcome. It was additionally noted that two moves later, he sacrificed a bishop for two pawns, a disparity that ultimately became too significant to counter in the endgame.