Gukesh mistakenly knocks pieces over after dramatic time scramble in loss against Niemann - WATCH

D Gukesh had a frustrating outing during Round 2 of the rapid event at the ongoing Grand Chess Tour: Super Rapid & Blitz Poland 2026, where he mistakenly knocked over the pieces after nearly losing on time against Hans Niemann.

The incident happened in a tense game where Gukesh, playing with the white pieces, was under severe time pressure. A video of the moment, where the reigning world champion appeared visibly nervous and knocked over the pieces, is now going viral on social media.

Gukesh drops to bottom half

Despite the drama, Niemann went on to win the game, handing Gukesh a tough defeat. Earlier in the day, Gukesh had drawn his opening rapid game against French GM Alireza Firouzja, while Niemann had also started with a draw against Candidates winner Javokhir Sindarov.

After two rounds, Gukesh finds himself in the bottom half of the standings with just one point, while Niemann has moved up to three points and is among the leaders. Wesley So is currently leading the standings with four points, followed by a group of players including Niemann, Jan-Krzysztof Duda and Firouzja.

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Gukesh is scheduled to face local star Duda in Round 3 of the rapid section, while Niemann will take on France's Maxime Vachier-Lagrave.

The Indian player had earlier announced a break from long-format chess in March to focus on training for his upcoming World Championship match later this year. Interestingly, Sindarov, who has already qualified as the challenger after winning the Candidates Tournament, is also part of this event and will face Gukesh in Round 5.

Meanwhile, Sindarov's second round match against Duda ended in a draw and he is currently fifth in the overall standings with 2.0 points, one more than Gukesh. Sindarov is currently playing Poland's Radoslaw Wojtaszek in Rapid 3.