World Champion Gukesh Dommaraju Suffers A Shocking Defeat At Hands Of 12-year-old

 

The blitz chess saw a shocking result in the ongoing FIDE World Blitz Championship 2025 in Doha. World Champion D Gukesh conceded a stunning defeat to the 12-year-old FIDE Master Sergey Sklokin. Gukesh’s loss in the third round resulted from a late error by Gukesh under extreme time pressure.

On paper, the matchup appeared to be in favour of Gukesh. The reigning world champion came with a blitz rating of 2628. He was up against Sklokin, who is rated around 2400.

 

Despite the huge difference between the rankings of the two players, the contest was balanced until it entered the endgame. The decisive moment came on move 70. Gukesh was playing with the black pieces, and he had only eight seconds on the clock. Sklokin on the other hand, had 13 seconds on his time clock. At that stage, the Russian teenage competitor offered a rook exchange, and if Gukesh had opted for that, the game would have headed for a draw. However, Gukesh chose a riskier route to move ahead in the game.

 

Rejecting the exchange, Gukesh played 70Rf4 to keep his winning chances alive. Sklokin capitalised on the mistake made by Gukesh, and he captured the bishop of the opponent, extending his edge. With his position in the contest collapsing and no pawn left in his army, Gukesh resigned ten moves later.

 

Gukesh finished in 20th spot in the FIDE World Rapid Chess Championship, winning six games and losing two. He was part of the leading groups earlier, but slumped in the later rounds. Ahead of the tournament, Gukesh had said that classical chess is his strongest format.

 

Gukesh had already mentioned that classical chess is his strongest format. He described the Rapid and Blitz events as opportunities to experiment and play without any pressure.