Gukesh wins 1st game as chess world champion after finding escape route vs Anish Giri

In 1 hasty determination of the wrist, Anish Giri had handed his 18-year-old hostile a get-out-of-jail-free card. Gukesh, who won the satellite title past period connected a akin blunder from his hostile Ding Liren, is not 1 to garbage gifts crossed the board.

The 18-year-old from Chennai lone landed successful the Dutch metropolis of Wijk aan Zee for the tourney connected Saturday greeting aft receiving the prestigious Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award from President Droupadi Murmu connected Friday evening.

Gukesh spent a batch of the mediate crippled of the lucifer scrambling for clip and trying to get retired of occupation arsenic Anish kept gathering up his vantage connected the board. By Gukesh’s 35th determination (35.Kg1), the valuation barroom was astir connected the floor, indicating a triumph for black.

Anish Giri reacts aft his mistake against Gukesh.
(Screenshot: YouTube/Chess24)

But an ill-advised queen withdrawal connected determination 35 (35…Qb6) meant that Anish Giri was present the 1 trying to evade decision arsenic Gukesh’s pawn would march towards promotion unhindered.

INTERACTIVE: How Gukesh D bushed Anish Giri

Eventually, conscionable aft some players had heaved themselves past the clip control, Anish resigned arsenic Gukesh’s vantage was excessively overwhelming. This was Gukesh’s archetypal crippled arsenic satellite champion.

Pragg offered large escape

There was plentifulness of symptom to spell astir successful the archetypal circular of the Tata Steel Chess lawsuit successful the Masters conception arsenic one-move blunders successful aggregate games dramatically altered the people of results.

India’s Praggnanandhaa R, playing with achromatic pieces against Nodirbek Abdusattorov successful the archetypal round, was successful heavy occupation simultaneously connected the committee and connected the clock, erstwhile helium was handed a reprieve by the Uzbek grandmaster.

The crippled yet ended successful a draw. Abdusattorov would beryllium kicking himself for allowing the Indian teen to escape. When helium made his ill-fated move, helium had astir 27 minutes connected the timepiece portion Pragg was down to his past 45 seconds.

With the troops connected the committee preparing for the last battle and impending checkmate connected Pragg’s king, Abdusattorov’s mistake was shifting his rook sideways (38…Rec8) which instantly changed the complexion of the crippled and allowed Pragg to support his mode out.

Mendonca shows committedness

Elsewhere, the 18-year-old from Goa, Leon Luke Mendonca, had Vincent Keymer successful a profoundly uncomfortable presumption for overmuch of the game. There were galore occasions wherever the Indian recovered himself 2 pawns up connected the board.

Things had started to curdle beauteous aboriginal connected the committee for the German grandmaster, who had precocious helped Gukesh go the youngest satellite chess champion successful history.

Mendonca, who earned a spot successful the elite tract aft winning the Challengers lawsuit astatine Tata Steel past year, astir took down Keymer earlier playing a bid of moves that flipped his winning vantage into a presumption wherever helium had nary enactment but to resign.