Gukesh Loses Against Nakamura But Erigaisi Overcomes Caruana In Round 8

Arjun Erigaisi surged back to contention with a victory over Fabiano Caruana in Norway Chess, American Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura ended world champion D. Gukesh’s run of classical victories by soundly defeating the Indian to collect three full points.

In the prestigious tournament’s eighth round on Tuesday, India’s Erigaisi ensnared his rival Caruana in a time scramble.

Nakamura, a former Norway chess champion and world No. 2, used his early lead with the white pieces to overpower his 19-year-old opponent, earning a “very smooth” victory and exacting retribution for Losing to the Indian in Round 3.

Nakamura cornered Gukesh, who had recovered from a poor start to the competition by defeating world No. 1 Magnus Carlsen in Round 6 and Erigaisi in Round 7, respectively. Throughout the nearly four-hour match, Nakamura didn’t allow his opponent an inch.

Gukesh and Nakamura were tied with third place with 11.5 points with two rounds remaining, while American GM Caruana was leading with 12.5 points despite losing to Erigaisi.

Erigaisi finished fifth with 10.5 points, while Carlsen, who lost to Wei Yi of China in the Armageddon tie-break, was in second place with 12 points.

“I’m really pleased with the game. It ran really smoothly”. After the victory, Nakamura remarked, “It looks great”.

The 37-year-old Nakamura, who won the 2023 Norway Chess tournament in which Gukesh placed third, claimed that the current world champion was uneasy with the pawn configuration, likely leading to him succumbing to time pressure and handing the American an easy victory.

“I am uncertain about the circumstances, whether Gukesh was unaware of the bishop g6 move, or what precisely transpired, but it was evident to me that, judging by the prolonged contemplation, he was not fond of the pawn structure whatsoever”, stated Nakamura, who, at the age of 15, had achieved the distinction of being the youngest American GM.

Nakamura stated that his defeat to Gukesh in Round 3 was primarily due to him “Relaxing” somewhat.

“As soon as I had equalized, I let my guard down completely. I became inattentive for about one to two moves, and right away, I found myself in significant trouble, from which I could not recover”, he remarked.

Nakamura was taken aback by Gukesh’s performance in the tournament up to this point, mentioning that he was fortunate to have made it past Carlsen and Erigaisi in Rounds 6 and 7, respectively.

“It’s a really odd situation, because his results are impressive, but if we look at it objectively in terms of chess, I believe he’s played poorly. He ought to have been defeated by Magnus.He was totally outplayed by Arjun Erigaisi”.

“Aside from the initial match with me, and possibly the one against Wei Yi, there were moments when he was behind; even Fabiano (Caruana) had him in a tough spot during that game,” Nakamura mentioned.

“So, it’s really tough to evaluate gukesh gameplay, but when I analyze his matches, one major advantage he has, which I think Arjun and R. Praggnanandhaa lack, is his mental toughness”.

He’s not as emotional as the other two players, and that’s really worked in his favor, particularly in this tournament, so it’s a bit of a mixed situation.

Nakamura mentioned, “I believe his defensive abilities are quite impressive. In this game, I noticed there were probably three or four instances where I was ahead, but I still needed to come up with more moves to secure the win, so he’s definitely demonstrating some solid defensive skills”.

Nakamura strongly suggested that this might be his final participation in Norway Chess, indicating that he likely played his last classical match against Carlsen. He also stated, “the future of chess lies in India.” He remarked, “India is essentially the new Soviet Union in terms of chess. You have Gukesh, you have Arjun, you have Praggnanandhaa, and I believe Aravindh has just entered the top-10, if I am not mistaken.

“Looking ahead to the next 5-10 years, I have no doubt that Indians will take over chess”, he mentioned.

Round 8

Men – Arjun Erigaisi (Ind – 10.5 points) defeated Fabiano Caruana (USA – 12.5). Hikaru Nakamura (USA – 11.5) triumphed over D Gukesh (Ind – 11.5). Wei Yi (Chn – 8) won against Magnus Carlsen (Nor – 12) in an Armageddon tie-break.

Women – Sara Khadem (Esp – 6) was defeated by Koneru Humpy (Ind – 13.5). R. Vaishali (Ind – 9.5) beat Ju Wenjun (Chn – 12.5) in an Armageddon tie-break. Anna Muzychuk (Ukr – 12.5) overcame Lei Tingjie (Chn – 10) in an Armageddon tie-break.