Bengaluru: In Round 2 of the Chennai Grandmasters on Friday, Gukesh D faced his first defeat of the tournament against Alireza Firouzja. This victory granted the French-Iranian grandmaster a significant lead with a full-point advantage.
Event Context
After achieving victory against Pranesh, Firouzja secured a second consecutive win, making him the sole player in the tournament with a 2/2 score. All other matches resulted in draws.
Gukesh, who successfully defended against Nihal Sarin in the first round, faced a challenging matchup against Firouzja with the black pieces.
The game featured dramatic swings, culminating in the reigning world champion being down a pawn in the endgame.
As the clock ticked down, both players found themselves with only 30 seconds remaining, with an increment of 30 seconds added for each subsequent move.
Firouzja’s victory on Friday propelled him to the ninth spot in the live world rankings, while Gukesh fell to 28th, just behind the young Turkish talent Yaagiz Kaan Erdogmus.
Results from Round 2 include: Hans Niemann and Nihal Sarin drew, Alireza Firouzja defeated Gukesh D, Dmitry Andreikin drew with M Pranesh, and Nodirbek Abdusattorov drew against Arjun Erigaisi.
