D Gukesh suffered a narrow defeat against Fabiano Caruana in
their quarter-final clash at the Weissenhaus Resort in Wangels, Germany. The
two faced off in the opening leg of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour, with
Caruana emerging victorious in a tightly contested game.
The match was the most intense of the quarter-finals, with
both grandmasters battling fiercely. Gukesh had winning chances but made a
critical blunder on move 33 while both players were under time pressure.
Caruana capitalized on this, delivering a decisive 40…Rf3!! move, making his
passed pawn unstoppable.
Why Did Caruana Pick Gukesh?
Before the match, fans were surprised when Caruana
handpicked Gukesh as his opponent, despite the Indian GM’s impressive
performances in Singapore and the Tata Masters. Caruana, on the other hand, had
struggled at Wijk aan Zee.
Explaining his decision, Caruana told Take Take Take,
"I had to pick someone. Both Gukesh and Nodirbek are incredibly strong
players, but Gukesh has more experience in high-stakes games, having played for
and won the World Championship. Nodirbek, however, is known for putting
pressure on opponents. It was a tough choice, but I felt Gukesh was more of an
unknown compared to Nodirbek."
He further explained that he expected Nodirbek to still be
available for selection, which influenced his choice to play Gukesh.
In the ongoing Grand Slam Tour format, the top four players
from the round-robin stage get to choose their quarter-final opponents from
those ranked fifth to eighth. Gukesh, who finished eighth, barely secured a
spot in the knockouts.