NEW DELHI: Since becoming the youngest-ever world chess champion at the age of 18 last year, Grandmaster (GM) Gukesh Dommaraju has been on the receiving end of countless potshots, not just from the past champions but also from those who have only managed to hold the title in their dreams so far.The latest to join that chorus was Uzbekistan No. 1 GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov, who stirred the pot ahead of the Grand Swiss with his “unpopular chess opinion”: “Gukesh will lose his title in the next match. Is that controversial?”Five-time world champion GM Viswanathan Anand was quick to defend the 19-year-old, brushing aside Abdusattorov’s jab with a smile: “Respect to these boys. They know how to make content. He is so innocent, no? Is that controversial? No, it’s good fun. That’s how the game is played these days.”But Samarkand had its own reality check in store.Gukesh, under no compulsion to play the Grand Swiss as reigning world champion, still threw himself into the mix to test his mettle against the elite, subsequently opening the run of games with two wins and two draws.However, Monday delivered the shocker: a fifth-round defeat to 16-year-old American prodigy GM Abhimanyu Mishra, arguably the most scathing blow yet of Gukesh’s reign as world champion.Mishra, born in New Jersey to Indian parents, had already carved his place in history as the youngest-ever to earn the GM title at 12 years and four months. With this win, he set another record, becoming the youngest to defeat a reigning world champion in classical chess, eclipsing Gata Kamsky’s 1992 mark at 18, when he beat Garry Kasparov.With Abhimanyu playing the whites, the game itself began innocuously enough as the king’s pawn opening steered into the Giuoco Pianissimo.The first major jolt came with Abhimanyu’s 12. dxe5, after which Gukesh invested 21 minutes before launching the fatal 12…g4 push.“He went with h5, and when I played d4, I saw this idea of going dxe5. He was still in preparation, and I wasn’t sure whether I should do it. But I decided, whether it’s Gukesh, the world champion, or anybody else, if I think a move is best, I’m going to play it. So I went for the dxe5 piece sacrifice,” Mishra explained after the game.“Instead of giving up the piece (pawn on e5), I was also considering ideas like Bh4, then if Black goes Qd7, I could play Nd4. Compared to the game, which also keeps an edge. So I was debating: should I go for exd6, which is basically all or nothing, or take the safer route with a pleasant position? In the end, I chose 13.exd6. I thought, let’s have some fun today.”
A couple of moves later, his pawn on c7, achieved through 14.dxc7, soon paralysed Black’s pieces.While the position swung dramatically, Mishra admitted to “panicking” after overestimating Gukesh’s counterplay. His 20. Nd4 handed the world champion a way back into the game.
“He found this idea with 19…Kd7, which I think was practically nice. I sort of panicked… Maybe I overestimated it. Later, I considered b4, and that looked quite good; if he goes Kc8, I go a4, b5, and soon he probably has to resign. But instead, I went Kd4, and that was just a horrible decision. I spent around 10 minutes on it. Honestly, it’s inexplicable,” he further added.Having lost his early advantage, Mishra opened up on the middle-game: “This period was frustrating because I knew I’d blown my position. I was just trying to somehow keep up the pressure.”
Abhimanyu slipped again with 32. Rff7, offering Gukesh a fresh chance to claw back. But after 36…Ne2+, Mishra’s precise rook play and the relentless march of his g-pawn from move 37 sealed the champion’s fate, forcing Gukesh to resign in a 61-move game that almost touched the six-hour mark.“Of course, I knew I was winning, but from there I just saw it till the absolute end. My rook was optimally placed, so there were no more tricks. He resigned,” Mishra recalled.For Gukesh, the loss is symbolic, with his aura of invincibility cracked further.For Mishra, it is another milestone of his short, storied chess career as he concluded, “This is going better than I could have possibly imagined. I’m gaining around 20 points already. If I keep up this form, I have a very real chance of winning the tournament. Throughout the game, I never felt like I was really inferior to these players. I think I’m at par with even the top of the top.”
