Some draws, as the cliche goes, are equivalent to victory. The newly-minted world chess champion Gukesh just pulled off one of those draws against arch-rival Nodirbek Abdusattorov in round 6 of the Tata Open chess tournament at Wijk aan Zee.
After an almighty grind of over six hours, both players shook hands and split a point. The Uzbek grandmaster Abdusattorov will be livid at letting slip a massive advantage on the board and allow Gukesh to salvage a draw.
Abdusattorov and Gukesh share a healthy rivalry on the board that has been around since the 2022 Chennai Olympiad where a loss to the Uzbek prodigy had undone a great tournament for Gukesh. At that Olympiad, thanks to that defeat, the Indian team had settled for bronze while the Uzbeks had claimed gold.
Understandably then, the game started with Abdusattorov throwing a hard stare at Gukesh before moving the first piece.
At one stage during the game, former world champion Magnus Carlsen joined the commentary for Chess24 where he slammed Gukesh’s strategy. “Gukesh’s strategy has been a spectacular failure,” Carlsen said.
The world no 1 also praised Abdusattorov for his ruthlessness. “As soon as he gets his chance, he’s ruthless. He calculates perfectly, he feels the momentum, and mentally he’s right there. It’s been very, very impressive!” Carlsen said.
This is the second time in the tournament that Gukesh has managed to grind out a draw after being in a worse position. Gukesh was also losing to home favourite Anish Giri in the first game of the Tata Steel chess tournament. But he resisted before turning the tables and defeating the Dutch GM. Gukesh had also dragged out a long battle against Vincent Keymer, who had helped him become world champion last month as a second.
Nodirbek Abdusattorov thinks about his next move in the round 6 game against Gukesh.
(PHOTO: Lennart Ootes via Tata Steel chess tournament)
“I was under pressure for the whole game, I think I misplayed in the opening. I defended pretty well. I’m sure he had some chances but it was always finding some tricks to stay in the game,” Gukesh said later.
Talking about his opponent, Gukesh said: “He’s one of the most promising players in the world right now. I really like how he plays. He always tries to fight and it’s always exciting to play against these kind of players.”
INTERACTIVE: How Gukesh held Nodirbek Abdusattorov to a draw after 6 hours
Abdusattorov held an advantage in the game against Gukesh even before the 20th move. Gukesh’s queen, the most powerful piece on the board, had largely been reduced to running around to save itself.
By move 26, Abdusattorov had a sizeable advantage on the eval bar. By move 42, the Uzbek GM was a pawn up. Gukesh made a mistake on move 45 moving his king, when the engine showed he should have shifted his rook (Gukesh played 45…Kf8? instead of 45…Rb3). By move 46, Abdusattorov had two more pawns on the board. Four moves later, Gukesh had three less pawns on the board, but one additional knight. By move 52, the writing seemed to be on the wall for Gukesh.
But the Indian grandmaster was not in the mood to wave the white flag of surrender. And was handed a reprieve on move 59 — Abdusattorov played 59. Re8??, which the engine said was a blunder.
The game eventually ended after 66 moves with a three-fold repetition on the board.
After the sixth round, Abdusattorov is joint leader (with Praggnanandhaa) in the masters section at the Tata Steel chess tournament with 4.5 points. Both players have three wins and three draws at Wijk aan Zee.
Gukesh, meanwhile, is just half a point behind the leaders with four draws and two wins. This means he is still unbeaten after becoming the youngest world champion in history of the sport.
