Gukesh has blown his chance. 😔



                                     brilliant young talent Dommaraju Gukesh will have to wait.


As I'm writing these words the brilliant young Indian player Dommaraju Gukesh seems to have blown his chance of qualifying the candidates.



                                            The position was very tense, and apparently Black had to play 20. 0-0-0, when chances were fairly balanced.


Instead Gukesh blundered with 20. ... 0-0? and after the alert reply 21. Ra4!



Hans was already winning. The g4 pawn is dropping and Black is in trouble.

All of which means Gukesh won't be getting the tournament victory he needs to qualify for the candidates, and Wesley So is likely to get the spot instead. 

This is sad news for Gukesh as he is one of the brightest talents in chess.

Which brings me to the next question- who is likely to take over at the top of chess and dominate now that Magnus is no longer in the world champion picture? Or will Magnus remain number one for the foreseeable future, making the world championship title something of an irrelevance? 

If Gukesh is out, then his good friend Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa is very much in. You get the feeling with "Pragg" that a devastating performance is just around the corner. Could it happen in the candidates?

It is only a matter of time before this young generation starts competing for the biggest prizes in chess, so why not now? 

The problem is that it is very easy to overrate potential and forget about players who are very much at their peak, like Caruana, Nakamura, and Ian Nepomniachtchi. Wesley So also has something to prove.

If I had to go for two players from the field, I would go for Nakamura and Pragg. It would be an amazing boost for Indian chess (if it even needs one) if Pragg were to get to the final and face Ding. Imagine a World chess championship final clash between the two asian superpowers in India and China. It would even eclipse the 1972 match between Fischer and Spassky. 

Naka gets to the final and the hype also goes into overdrive. If he were to beat Ding, (I don't think he would) then I can even imagine a scenario where Magnus comes out of "match retirement" to face the streamer, beloved by so many casual fans as Nakamura is. You could name your price for such a match. 

As for Gukesh, I think it's just an example of how confidence and pressure can affect even the best of us. He'll bounce back and let's hope he qualifies for the next candidates in two years time. 




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