Mumbai Marine Drive trip does the trick as Gukesh wins first game in GCL, beats world No 3 Caruana: 'It’s a very special feeling'

A walk by Mumbai's famous Marin Drive did the trick for chess world champion D Gukesh as he won his first game at the ongoing Global Chess League (GCL) third season, helping his team PBG Alaskan Knights to their first victory on Thursday. Gukesh and PBG Alaskan Knights had been winless in the first two matches, despite boasting top players like Arjun Erigaisi, Kateryna Lagno and Leinier Dominguez Perez.

PBG Alaskan Knights continue to be at the bottom of the six-team standings but they would be happy to have gotten off the mark in the GCL 3 after five matches. The victory came after local chess stars Gukesh and Erigaisi defeated Anish Giri and Fabiano Caruana in their respective matches.

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The crowd erupts as Gukesh beats Caruana 

Gukesh's first win of the tournament, on the Icon Board against world No 3 Fabiano Caruana, was the pick of the matches as the crowd erupted at Mumbai's Royal Opera House after the teenage world champion defeated the American Grandmaster in an Italian Game. Caruana had recently said that Gukesh is nowhere near being the best player in the world.

Also Read | ‘Gukesh is clearly not world No 1, but can’t be compared to Ding Liren’: Caruana

After the match, Gukesh revealed that a team outing arranged by coach Abhijit Kunte at Marine Drive helped him rediscover his focus and break the losing streak.

“It’s a very special feeling to get my first win. From the start, we felt we were in control, but towards the end, a few things became tricky. When I looked at the other boards, I felt from the start that Lagno and Arjun were going to win, though I didn’t expect Daniel Dardha to lose. Dominguez’s game seemed about evenly poised, so I knew I had to push for a win. By then, I already had good chances, and my opponent was running low on time.”

“After a tough day, it was nice to just forget about chess for a while," Gukesh said while talking about the trip to Marine Drive. "We went out together as a team and reminded ourselves that we win and lose as a group. We spoke about different things, relaxed, and I genuinely had a lot of fun.”

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Gukesh was delighted to see a large number of fans turn up to watch him play chess, as he spoke about how he and Arjun joked with each other that they needed to start winning.

“The cheering from fans today (before and after the match) was incredibly loud — louder than any other day so far. Seeing so many kids in the crowd really motivated me....Before the game, Arjun and I even talking that since so many people were here, it was time to start winning.”