World Chess Champion D Gukesh slipped to joint sixth place in the St. Louis Rapid and Blitz tournament, part of the Grand Chess Tour, after a challenging first day of the blitz section on Thursday. Scoring one win and four draws in the first nine blitz rounds, Gukesh amassed 13 points, tied with Vietnam’s Liem Le Quang, but four losses hindered his standing in the $175,000 prize-money event.
Levon Aronian of the United States surged to the lead with 19 points, capitalizing on four wins, four draws, and one loss. Fabiano Caruana, also from the U.S., trailed with 17 points after a winless blitz performance following a strong rapid section. France’s Maxime Vachier-Lagrave held third with 16.5 points, remaining the only undefeated player with two wins and seven draws. Uzbekistan’s Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Wesley So of the U.S. shared fourth place with 15 points each.
Gukesh’s sole victory came against American Leinier Dominguez Perez, but losses to Wesley So, Abdusattorov, Liem, and Vachier-Lagrave proved costly. With nine blitz rounds remaining, Gukesh, ranked No. 27 in rapid and No. 93 in blitz globally, faces a steep challenge to climb the leaderboard.
Also Read: India A’s Epic Comeback: Yastika, Radha, Tanuja Power Series-Clinching Win Over Australia A!
Blitz Round Results (First Nine Rounds):
- Round 1: Aronian drew Gukesh; Liem beat Dominguez; Oparin beat So; Vachier-Lagrave drew Abdusattorov; Caruana drew Shankland.
- Round 2: Shankland drew Gukesh; Oparin beat Abdusattorov; Vachier-Lagrave beat Dominguez; Caruana beat Liem; So drew Aronian.
- Round 3: So beat Gukesh; Liem beat Shankland; Abdusattorov beat Aronian; Oparin beat Dominguez; Vachier-Lagrave drew Caruana.
- Round 4: Vachier-Lagrave drew Liem; Caruana drew Oparin; Aronian beat Dominguez; Abdusattorov beat Gukesh.
- Round 5: Aronian beat Caruana; Gukesh beat Dominguez; So beat Abdusattorov; Vachier-Lagrave drew Shankland; Oparin drew Liem.
- Round 6: Dominguez drew So; Liem drew Aronian; Caruana drew Gukesh; Abdusattorov beat Shankland; Vachier-Lagrave drew Oparin.
- Round 7: Liem beat Gukesh; Oparin beat Shankland; Abdusattorov beat Dominguez; Aronian drew Vachier-Lagrave; So drew Caruana.
- Round 8: So beat Liem; Vachier-Lagrave beat Gukesh; Abdusattorov beat Caruana; Shankland beat Dominguez; Aronian beat Oparin.
- Round 9: Caruana drew Dominguez; Aronian beat Shankland; Gukesh drew Oparin; So drew Vachier-Lagrave; Abdusattorov drew Liem.
Standings (with nine blitz rounds remaining):
- Aronian (19); 2. Caruana (17); 3. Vachier-Lagrave (16.5); 4-5. Abdusattorov, So (15 each); 6-7. Gukesh, Liem (13 each); 8. Dominguez (10); 9. Oparin (9); 10. Shankland (7.5).
Gukesh’s resilience will be tested as he aims to rebound in the final blitz rounds to challenge the leaders.
Also Read: Shubman Gill’s Unbelievable Feat: Leading India to Glory in England!