D Gukesh Commits Stunning Blunder And Loses To Nodirbek Abdusattorov In Tata Steel Chess

World champion D Gukesh faltered due to a lapse in concentration, leading to an unexpected blunder and defeat against Uzbekistan’s Nodirbek Abdusattorov in the sixth round of the Tata Steel chess tournament

on Saturday.

In contrast, top-seeded Indian Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi managed to salvage half a point from Matthias Bluebaum of Germany, who made a similar oversight.

The day was filled with drama as Gukesh’s blunder forced him to resign immediately from a position that could have resulted in a draw. A “blind-spot” in chess occurs when a player momentarily fails to recognise the situation on the board. This was Gukesh’s first such error since becoming a Grandmaster, and his fans hope it will be his last.

Arjun, who was on the verge of defeat against Bluebaum, benefitted from the German’s blind-spot. Bluebaum missed a simple winning sequence, as noted by the experts analysing the games, allowing Arjun to draw the match and breathe a sigh of relief.

Indian GM R Praggnanandhaa continued his quest for a win, drawing with Slovenia’s Vladimir Fedoseev in a closely contested match.

In another significant encounter, World Cup winner Javokhir Sindarov of Uzbekistan could not gain an advantage and was held to a draw by Aravindh Chithambaram.

With seven rounds remaining, Abdusattorov leads with 4.5 points, followed by Sindarov with four points. Hans Moke Niemann of the United States and Germany’s Vincent Keymer are tied for third place with 3.5 points each. Gukesh, Arjun, and several others are closely trailing them.

Results of Round 6: Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzb, 4.5) defeated D Gukesh (Ind, 3); R Praggnanandhaa (Ind, 2) drew with Vladimir Fedoseev (Slo, 3.5); Matthias Bluebaum (Ger, 3) drew with Arjun Erigaisi (Ind, 2.5); Aravindh Chithambaram (Ind, 2) drew with Javokhir Sindarov (Uzb, 4); Hans Moke Niemann (USA, 3.5) lost to Vincent Keymer (Ger, 3.5); Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus (Tur, 3) beat Jorden van Foreest (Ned, 3); Thai Dai Van Nugyen (Cze, 2) drew with Anish Giri (Ned, 1.5).

With PTI Inputs