New Delhi: After a disappointing Thursday where Dommaraju Gokesh tasted defeat against the world No. 1 and five-time world champion. Magnus Carlsen In what was the reigning world champion’s final game as a youngster, Gokesh returned to the board on Saturday for a Round 9 clash against compatriot Grandmaster R Praganandha.On Friday, as Norwegian Chess celebrated its first rest day, Gokesh celebrated his 20th birthday. Call it coincidence or a stroke of luck in his early 20s, but the reigning world champion managed to bounce back from a poor start to the game and beat compatriot R Praganananda on Saturday under the beautiful roof of the Deichmann Bajrvikka Library in Oslo. Heading into Saturday’s clash, Gokesh found himself at the bottom of the pack with 3.5 points. However, with this crucial victory against Prague, the 20-year-old, who will defend his world championship crown against Uzbekistan’s Javikhir Sandrov later this year, has moved up to third on the leaderboard, just 3.5 points behind tournament leader Alireza Feroza.On the board, the all-India clash perfectly illustrated the enduring appeal of classical chess.
Playing with the white pieces, Praganandha secured the position with an advanced c5–c6 pawn chain and active queenside play. Gokesh, however, responded strongly with 32…e5 in the center and launched a kingside attack with 34…g5 and 37…g4. The critical phase of the game began after 33.d5, as Black’s attack increased rapidly. Gokesh made a decisive attack after 46.Kxf3 Bh5+ 47.Kf2 Qg3+, sacrificing content for the initiative to open up White’s king shelter.Under intense time pressure, Black’s active pieces and direct threats proved too much. Praganandha never appeared to be in a position to recover from losing his way in the tumult of time.“What can I say, just a very complicated game… luckily, for me, those kind of moves worked,” Gakesh said after the victory. It marked Gokesh’s first classical win in the tournament as well as his first victory as a 20-year-old.Duya Deshmukh Bounces back in style.Like Gokesh, India’s Divya Deshmukh also had a tough outing just before the rest day. The 20-year-old grandmaster, who has otherwise shown admirable form throughout the tournament, let an advantageous position slip through her fingers during a classical draw before losing an Armageddon tiebreak to defending Norwegian women’s chess champion Anna Muzyczak.Consequently, redemption was the top priority for Divya on Saturday. She did just that, defeating Zoe Jenner in a grueling 84-move contest to earn her first classic win of the tournament.
Playing with the black pieces, Divya defended with flexibility through the opening. In the early middle game, the game was almost even, but Divya gradually improved her piece placement and neutralized White’s moves. The final turn came after 41.Nxa4, when Black activated his route beautifully with 42…Re2+ and 43…Rxh2. From that moment on, Black’s rook and knight completely overwhelmed White’s bishop, creating a very favorable endgame that Divya flawlessly turned into a win.With this win, Divya became the sole leader of the tournament with 8.5 points.She will next face world women’s champion Jo Wenjin on Sunday in a highly anticipated rematch of their first-round encounter, where Divya previously defeated the Chinese grandmaster at Armageddon.2nd Place: Third Classic defeat to Magnus Carlsen. Conero Hampi took the first win.It was another frustrating day at the office for world No. 1 and local hero Magnus Carlsen, who suffered his third classic loss of the tournament to Wesley Soo in his Round 5 match. After this defeat, Carlsen are now at the bottom of the table with 4.5 points.
Meanwhile, Alireza Feroza maintained his position as the sole leader of the Open section by defeating Germany’s No. 1 Vincent Kemmer in an Armageddon tiebreak.Koniro Hampi was a breath of fresh air after defeating women’s world chess champion Jo Wengen at Armageddon to claim her first win of the tournament.Anna Muzyczyk held on to third place on the points table with 7 points after beating B Bessara Essaoubaifa in their Armageddon tiebreak.
