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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
Leonard Barden

Chess: World champion Gukesh falters against teenager as Grand Swiss starts on Silk Road

Gukesh Dommaraju Samarkand Bobby Fischer Nikita Vitiugov Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu Anna Muzychuk Arjun Erigaisi David Howell England Fabiano Caruana
Gukesh Dommaraju in action
Gukesh Dommaraju made a bright start in Samarkand by beating Étienne Bacrot with the Black pieces. Photograph: Dpa Picture Alliance/Alamy

The 11-round $625,000 Fide Grand Swiss, which began on Thursday in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, the capital of the Silk Road, will decide two of the eight qualifiers for next year’s world title Candidates.

India has a strong hand, as the world champion, Gukesh Dommaraju (ineligible to qualify), is joined by the world No 4, Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu, the world No 5, Arjun Erigaisi, and the world No 27, Vidit Gujrathi, who won the 2023 Grand Swiss in Douglas, Isle of Man. Praggnanandhaa is already well placed to qualify via the 2025 Fide congress circuit, from which the world No 3, Fabiano Caruana, qualified in 2024.

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