prague: Desperately seeking his first victory in the tournament, reigning world champion D Gukesh will take on compatriot Aravindh Chithambaram in the sixth round of the Masters section of the Prague International Chess Festival on Wednesday.
With just 1.5 points coming through three draws and a couple of losses, this is another slump for Gukesh that saw him slip to number 17 in the live world rankings. The world champion needs to make adjustments quickly before it’s too late in the event.
Gukesh’s first loss was against tournament leader Jorden van Foreest, where he was doing well until a certain point, while his second defeat against Nodirbek Abdusattorov was a positional mistake under time pressure.
Gukesh is set to play Iranian Parham Maghsoodloo, Vincent Keymer of Germany and David Anton Guijarro of Spain in the last three rounds.
Aravindh has had a lone victory but that was also from a worse position against American Hans Moke Niemann. The Indian defending champion broke into top-level chess right here last year after winning this tournament, but his struggles this year make Gukesh a huge favorite in their clash.