D Gukesh Slips To World No. 20 Following Prague Setback To Aravindh Chithambaram

Last Updated:March 04, 2026, 08:28 IST

D Gukesh loses to Aravindh Chithambaram at Prague Chess, dropping to world no. 20 in live FIDE ratings, with three defeats.

World champion D Gukesh suffered another loss at the Prague Chess on Tuesday, a defeat to compatriot Aravindh Chithambaram, which saw him drop to world no. 20 in the live FIDE ratings that are updated in real-time. He also slid to the last spot in the tournament standings among 10 players.

For the past few years, resetting the pieces after every match has become Gukesh’s quiet trademark. He does it after crushing losses, routine draws and historic wins alike.

Gukesh did it after defeating Ding Liren in Game 14 of the World Championship in Singapore to seal his coronation. He did it after that charged clash with Magnus Carlsen at Norway Chess, the one that ended with the world No. 1 slamming his fist on the table before resigning.

Gukesh repeated the ritual after two painful losses to arch-rival Nodirbek Abdusattorov, first at the Tata Steel Chess tournament in January, after one of the worst blunders of his career, and again on March 1, after another error led to a second straight defeat.

But on Tuesday evening, after going down to Aravindh, Gukesh was too distraught to bother with rituals at all.

Right after resigning his sixth-round clash against Aravindh, a shaken Gukesh walked out of the playing hall, stopping only to sign the scoresheets as required by regulation before disappearing from view.

The reaction was understandable. Six rounds in, Gukesh has suffered three losses and managed three draws, a run that has cost him 19 rating points.

The match against Aravindh once again turned on a late mistake from Gukesh, who was forced to blitz out five moves between his 35th and 40th with only seconds left on his clock.

At that point, engine evaluations preferred Aravindh’s position. Gukesh was ahead, holding a rook and an extra pawn against two knights. But under severe time pressure, Gukesh allowed both of Aravindh’s knights, along with his rook, to dominate the e-file, creating decisive threats against his king on h2 and swinging the match beyond recovery.

News sports chess D Gukesh Slips To World No. 20 Following Prague Setback To Aravindh Chithambaram

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