D Gukesh's winning streak this year has been broken. He was knocked out of the FIDE World Cup held in Goa. He was eliminated after losing in the third round. In game one of round three, Gukesh drew against German Grandmaster Frederik Svane. In the second classical game on the same day, he lost. He was defeated 1.5-0.5.
Since the 2022 Olympiad, D Gukesh has been at the centre of attention in various events. This time, with India hosting the Chess World Cup, he was one of the favourites to win. But he had to be knocked out in the third round. However, Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa and Arjun Erigaisi kept hopes alive. These two stars have advanced to the fourth round.
Arjun has defeated Uzbekistan's Shamsiddin Vokhidov 1.5-0.5 in the second game of the third round. Meanwhile, 2023 World Cup runner-up Praggnanandhaa defeated Armenia's Robert in the second game. Both stars, Arjun and Pragga, played with white pieces.
Among the remaining Indians, V Pranav and Pentala Harikrishna have advanced to the next round. Diptayan Ghosh lost to two-time champion Nepomniachtchi. But in the second round, he lost to Armenia's Gabriel Sargissian.
In the third round of the Chess World Cup, several big players were eliminated after losing. Gukesh and Anish Giri are on this list. Anish lost to German Grandmaster Alexander Donchenko in game two. On the other hand, Gukesh's performance has been declining since February this year. After drawing the first game of the World Cup, Gukesh lost his queen on the 30th move in the second game. By the 39th move, the match began slipping away from Gukesh's hands.
