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Gukesh, who has 3 points in the event thus far, is scheduled to be on white pieces, with his compatriot Divya, who has 3.5 points, on black for the game.
D Gukesh, Divya Deshmukh.
World Champion D Gukesh is slated to take on Women’s World Cup winner Divya Deshmukh in an all-Indian affair in round 8 of the FIDE Grand Swiss in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, on Friday.
Gukesh is scheduled to be on white pieces, with the compatriot on black for the game. Divya has 3.5 points in the tournament so far, while Gukesh has 3 points and is on a three-game losing streak. The crucial game also marks the first time the two take each other on in the Classical format of Chess.
Gukesh’s struggles at the event persisted as he suffered his third consecutive defeat, losing to 16-year-old Turkish Grandmaster Ediz Gurel in the seventh round on Thursday.
After the rest day, Gukesh’s situation at Samarkand remained unchanged. The World Champion lost to Gurel, who is three years younger, due to a blunder involving his bishop towards the end of the game. Prior to facing Gurel, Gukesh had lost to USA’s Abhimanyu Mishra and Nikolas Theodorou of Greece. He now has three points from seven matches and needs to win all his remaining games to stay in contention.
The top two players from each section will qualify for the Candidates tournament in 2026, which will determine the challenger for the next World Championship match in both the men’s and women’s sections.
Indian Grandmaster Nihal Sarin seized a share of the lead with a thrilling victory over overnight leader Parham Maghsoodloo of Iran. Joining him at the top is German Grandmaster Matthias Bluebaum, who defeated Arjun Erigaisi. Both now have 5.5 points.
Seven players, including Vidit Gujrathi, Iranian-French star Alireza Firouzja, Uzbek Grandmaster Nodirbek Abdusattorov, and Americans Hans Niemann and Abhimanyu Mishra, are tied for second place with five points each. Each won their respective matches in the seventh round to close in within half a point of the leaders.
R Praggnanandhaa defeated Israeli Grandmaster Maxim Rodshtein, bringing his total to 4.5 points. He joins ten others at this score, including Erigaisi and Pranav Venkatesh.
September 12, 2025, 09:10 IST
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