After beating Sindarov, Gukesh secures another impressive win over Caruana

Reigning world champion D Gukesh produced another stellar performance at the Super Rapid and Blitz Poland on Thursday, defeating world No 3 Fabiano Caruana a day after his victory over Fide Candidates winner Javokhir Sindarov. He had earlier defeated Polish Grandmaster Jan Krzysztof Duda – who helped him win the 2024 World Championship – in the opening round on Tuesday.

With three wins in as many days in the opening event of the 2026 Grand Chess Tour in Warsaw, Gukesh finished a creditable fourth in the Rapid section of the tournament with nine points in as many outings.

Failing to finish among the top-three might normally be seen as a disappointing result for a player who happens to be the reigning world champion. Gukesh, however, has endured a torrid run spanning nearly a year, having produced underwhelming performances at events such as Tata Steel Chess, Prague Masters and the Menorca Open this year.

More from Chess

The Indian Grandmaster's performance in the Rapid section of the tournament, however, is a promising sign, one that suggests that the youngest world champion of all time might be regaining his form in time ahead of his title defence against Sindarov later this year.

How Gukesh defeated Caruana

Gukesh defeated Caruana in 49 moves while playing with white pieces, opting for a Queen's Pawn Opening that later developed into a Catalan Opening. Caruana drew first blood in the fourth move by initiating a pawn exchange near the middle of the board.

It wasn't an ideal game for either player, and both Gukesh and Caruana had their fair share of mistakes. The reigning world champion, in particular, had committed an error with his Queen in the 19th move (19. Qb3) that not only strengthened his opponent's position but could have proved costly for him on the longer run.

Gukesh, however, managed to bring the contest back on level terms soon after and even got a thumbs up from the Stockfish engine for a solid 26th move (26. Bxg7) in which he initiated a bishop exchange right next to the black king.

Ultimately, it was a blunder by Caruana in his 38th move (38. g4) that proved to be his undoing and tilted the game heavily in Gukesh's favour. And despite having his Queen on the board along with three pawns and a knight, the American GM raised the white flag of surrender after having his King chased around by Gukesh's queen.