Samarkand (Uzbekistan), Sept 12 (HS): World Champion D. Gukesh’s poor run at the FIDE Grand Swiss 2025 continued as he suffered his third consecutive defeat, this time at the hands of 16-year-old Turkish Grandmaster Ediz Gürel in the seventh round.

After earlier losses to Abhimanyu Mishra (USA) and Nikolas Theodorou (Greece), there had been hopes that the rest day would help Gukesh reset. However, a costly blunder in the endgame saw him lose his bishop and ultimately the match. With only three points from seven rounds, the reigning champion now faces the uphill challenge of winning all his remaining games to stay in title contention.

In sharp contrast, India’s Grandmaster Nihal Sarin delivered a commanding performance, defeating Parham Maghsoodloo of Iran to move into a share of the lead. Nihal now tops the standings on 5.5 points alongside Germany’s GM Matthias Bluebaum, who overcame India’s Arjun Erigaisi.

Seven players — including Vidit Gujrathi, Alireza Firouzja (Iran/France), Uzbekistan’s Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Hans Niemann (USA), and Abhimanyu Mishra (USA) — are close on their heels with five points each in joint second place.

Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa also impressed, defeating Israel’s GM Maxim Rodshtein to reach 4.5 points. He is joined on the same score by Arjun Erigaisi and Pranav Venkatesh.

In the women’s section, India’s reigning champion Vaishnavi (Vaishali) Rameshbabu regained the sole lead after defeating China’s IM Guo Qi, notching her fifth victory of the tournament. GM Divya Deshmukh also registered an important win to stay in contention.

As a reminder, the top two finishers from both the Open and Women’s Grand Swiss will qualify for the 2026 Candidates Tournament, which determines the next challengers for the World Chess Championship crown.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar