Samarkand (Uzbekistan), September 12 (Patrika English News): World Champion D. Gukesh’s struggles continued at the FIDE Grand Swiss 2025 as he suffered a third straight defeat, losing to 16-year-old Turkish Grandmaster Ediz Gurel in the seventh round.
After back-to-back losses against America’s Abhimanyu Mishra and Greece’s Nikolas Theodorou, it was expected that the rest day would help him recover. However, a miscalculated endgame move cost him his bishop and the game. With only three points after seven rounds, Gukesh must win all his remaining matches to stay in contention for the title.
Meanwhile, India’s Grandmaster Nihal Sarin displayed impressive form, defeating Iran’s Parham Maghsoodloo to move into joint lead. Nihal now shares the top spot with Germany’s GM Matthias Bluebaum, who beat India’s Arjun Erigaisi, both standing at 5.5 points.
Seven players — including Vidit Gujrathi, Alireza Firouzja (Iran-France), Uzbekistan’s Nodirbek Abdusattorov, and Americans Hans Niemann and Abhimanyu Mishra — are tied in second place with five points.
R. Praggnanandhaa defeated Israel’s GM Maxim Rodshtein to reach 4.5 points, the same tally as Arjun Erigaisi and Pranav Venkatesh.
In the women’s section, India’s defending champion Vaishnavi (Vaishali) Rameshbabu regained sole lead by defeating China’s IM Guo Qi, notching her fifth win of the tournament. GM Divya Deshmukh also secured a victory.
Notably, the top two players from both the men’s and women’s sections will qualify for the 2026 Candidates Tournament, which will decide the challenger for the next World Championship match.
