Synopsis: World champion Dommaraju Gukesh beat world No. 1 Magnus Carlsen for the first time in a classical match in round 6 of the Norway Chess. However, Carlsen could not hold onto his frustration as he slammed the table immediately after losing to Gukesh.
World champion Dommaraju Gukesh beat world No. 1 Magnus Carlsen for the first time in a classical match in round 6 of the Norway Chess tournament in the early hours of Monday, 2 June.
The 19-year-old grandmaster bounced back from a losing position and turned the game around, securing the win against Carlsen.
However, Carlsen could not hold onto his frustration as he slammed the table immediately after losing to Gukesh. Meanwhile, Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana lead the tournament with 9.5 points each, with Gukesh trailing by one point.
Also Read: India’s D Gukesh becomes youngest World Chess Champion
Gukesh downplays reaction
Gukesh, who said he was still shaking after the game, said: “I don’t know what happened.” Carlsen, who outplayed his opponent and made no mistakes for nearly the entire game, lost control in the time scramble.
When asked about Carlsen’s behaviour, Gukesh later told chess.com that the reaction was understandable in the context and added: “No, it was heartbreaking how he lost. I completely understand. I have also banged many tables in my career. A couple of them on camera, a few off camera. But I wasn’t paying too much attention to what he did, I was trying to calm myself down.”
However, the Indian Express reported that Carlsen apologised to Gukesh for his outburst twice.
“Well, there wasn’t much I could do. It was just clearly lost. So I was just trying to make moves which were kind of tricky for him,” Gukesh said, as reported by Sportstar.
“I mean, 99 out of 100 times, I would have lost. Yeah, just a lucky day,” he added.
Carlsen had celebrated his earlier win against Gukesh, in the first round, by sharing a social media post that read, “You come at the king, you best not miss.”
This is the second time in two years at Norway Chess that an Indian teenager has defeated Carlsen. Last year, it was Praggnanandhaa.
