New Delhi: On the occasion of his 19th birthday, world champion D Gukesh opened his numeral account by defeating America’s second number Hikaru Nakamura in the third round while Arjun Eigasi suffered his first defeat here on Thursday in the Norway Chess tournament.
In the first two rounds, Gukesh, who defeated the world’s number one player Magnus Carlson and compatriot Arjun Arigasi, kept one of the best players of Rapid and Blitz under the pressure of time and scored three points by winning the bet in 42 tricks.
Playing with Gukesh white pieces, six players are fifth of Chinese number one Vai Yi with three points by registering the first win in this double round Robin tournament.
After two consecutive defeats, this was a great comeback for Gukesh and he admitted that the last two days were difficult for him.
Gukesh said, Tahan, the last two bets were a bit difficult. But today I tried to play it like a new tournament. I am happy that I (like this) played.
After making a good start, Arigasi suffered a defeat against Grandmaster Fabiano Karuana. The defending champion Carlson was defeated by Wei Yi of China in Armagadon Tybrek.
Karuana is at the top with six points with three more points. Carlson is in second place with five points. Arigasi and Nakamura are jointly third with 4.5 points.
Karuana, who started the tournament with a defeat against Nakamura, has become the third player in the world by beating Arigasi in a live rating with two consecutive wins.
In the women’s competition, two -time world rapid champion Koneru Hampi and Ukraine’s Anna Mujichuk are jointly at the top with six points. Hampi defeated the female Grandmaster Sarah Khadem while playing with white pieces in the third round. Ju Wenzun of China defeated R Vaishali in Armagadon Tiebreak.
