Gukesh Out of Grand SlamWorld champion D Gukesh lost to Fabiano Caruana in the second leg of the quarterfinals at the 2025 Weissenhaus Freestyle Chess Grand Slam.
By Aniket Chakraborty
Feb 12, 2025
Blunder Cost GukeshGukesh blundered a pawn in the opening, losing his advantage early in the game against Caruana.
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Quick Defeat for GukeshCaruana finished the match in just 18 moves, securing his place in the semifinals.
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Gukesh EliminatedBack-to-back losses knocked Gukesh out of the top-four race, sending him to the 5th-8th place playoff.
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Freestyle Chess FormatFreestyle Chess features 960 random positions, shifting pieces from their base ranks, with pawns staying intact.
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Fischer’s InfluenceThe Freestyle format was introduced by chess legend Bobby Fischer and has grown in popularity with recent funding.
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Caruana’s ExpertiseFabiano Caruana, experienced in freestyle chess, easily transitioned into normal chess after 15 moves, gaining a pawn advantage.
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Gukesh's StrategyRealizing his position was lost, Gukesh chose not to challenge Caruana further and conceded the match.
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Carlsen LeadsMagnus Carlsen, the main figure of the tournament, continued his strong performance with a win over Nodirbek Abdusattorov.
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Firouzja’s StruggleAlireza Firouzja faced a tough challenge against Vincent Keymer, losing the opener in a must-win match.