Bhubaneswar : World Champion Gukesh Dommaraju’s campaign at the FIDE Grand Swiss in Samarkand has taken a troubling turn, as the 19-year-old Indian star lost his third consecutive game—this time to Turkish teen prodigy Ediz Gurel. Gukesh’s earlier defeats came against Greek GM Nikolas Theodorou and 16-year-old American GM Abhimanyu Mishra, marking a run of setbacks against chess’s youth brigade.
Despite entering the event as a top seed, Gukesh now sits well below the leaders after seven rounds. The errors have been costly: a blunder in the sixth round saw him give repeated checks instead of consolidating a material advantage, ultimately helping Theodorou escape with a win. Gukesh’s draw with 14-year-old Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus also hinted at his struggle to assert dominance over the tournament’s teenage challengers.
Some notable facts from recent rounds:
- Gukesh was seeded 3 and started with early wins, but now has three straight defeats on the scoreboard.
- Ediz Gurel, only 16, dispatched Gukesh in round seven, joining a list of prodigies scoring dramatic upsets in Samarkand.
- Abhimanyu Mishra became the youngest to beat a reigning world champion in classical-play at this event.
Indian GM Nihal Sarin and Germany’s Matthias Bluebaum now top the leaderboard after round 7, while pre-tournament favourite Arjun Erigaisi and defending champ Vidit Gujrathi remain contenders thanks to key wins.
Gukesh is set to play India’s Divya Deshmukh next, needing a strong result to reverse his slide and keep hopes alive for a late surge.
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