Chess king Gukesh lost two standard chess games in a row against opponents under 2,700 Elo

The chess world is shocked by the unbelievable decline in form of world "Chess King" Gukesh Dommaraju after he lost two consecutive matches at the 2025 Grand Swiss tournament.

Gukesh had a poor performance at Grand Swiss 2025 - Photo: Chessbase India

In the sixth round held on September 9, Gukesh (Elo 2,767) lost to Nikolas Theodorou (Elo 2,646), after falling to Abhimanyu Mishra (Elo 2,611) in the previous round.

Notably, both opponents had Elo ratings more than 100 lower than him, making these two defeats even more unacceptable.

In the game against Theodorou, Gukesh held white and had a big time advantage. However, in the endgame, he made risky decisions instead of aiming for a safe draw.

This mistake created an opportunity for Greek player Theodorou, who, despite running out of time, still took full advantage and won the game.

After the game, Gukesh was visibly angry and frustrated. He walked away from the table, muttering to himself as he made his way back to the hotel.

This shows that he is completely dissatisfied with the decisions made in the game by the 19-year-old player.

Gukesh disappointed with himself after the loss - Video : social network X

These two defeats do not affect Gukesh's position as "Chess King" because he has secured a place in the 2026 World Chess Finals. However, this achievement greatly damages his goal of becoming the world's No. 1.

Since the start of the tournament, Gukesh has lost 8.6 Elo. Since becoming the "Champion" at the end of 2024, he has lost a total of 19 Elo, falling from 3rd to 6th place in the world. The gap between him and Magnus Carlsen is now 81 Elo, a big challenge.

Gukesh's disappointing performance reminded many people of "Chess King" Dinh Lap Nhan when he lost four consecutive games at the 2024 Norwegian Super Cup.

However, unlike Gukesh, Dinh Lap Nhan lost to world-class players such as Fabiano Caruana, Hikaru Nakamura, Alireza Firouzja and Carlsen.

Currently after round 6, Parham Maghsoodloo still dominates the top of the table with 5 points. Gukesh with only 3 points is in 53rd place, showing his difficulty in this tournament.

Grand Swiss 2025 will select the two best players to participate in the Candidates 2026 tournament.

TUAN LONG

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/vua-co-gukesh-thua-lien-hai-van-co-tieu-chuan-truoc-doi-thu-duoi-2-700-elo-20250910074905488.htm