D Gukesh makes rare Titled Tuesday Blitz appearance with an eye on future; leaves Hikaru Nakamura shocked

Chess world champion D Gukesh looks determined to improve his Blitz game as he made a rare appearance in the Early Titled Tuesday online competition on 22 July, finishing 18th in the competition, which was won by world No.2 Hikaru Nakamura. While Nakamura won the contest with a score of 9.5, Gukesh finished with eight points after three defeats.

The 19-year-old Gukesh's three losses came against eventual winner Nakamura, International Master LR Srihari and Grandmaster Parham Maghsoodloo.

Determined Gukesh looks to improve Blitz game

The Early Titled Tuesday Blitz is played in the Swiss system, where players have three minutes to finish the game and get an increment of one second for each move. This is very different compared to the Classical format, in which Gukesh won the World Chess Championship. During the Championship, Gukesh had 90 minutes for the first 40 moves.

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Thus, the Blitz format has still not been one of the strengths of the youngest world champion of all time. Gukesh has earned a reputation for being a player who is less about instinct and more about calculation.

The lack of time in faster time control games doesn't often allow Gukesh the luxury to calculate moves at his own pace, leading to unintended mistakes.

The Chennai star recently showcased some improvement in the faster format as he won five consecutive Rapid games earlier this month at the SuperUnited Rapid and Blitz Croatia tournament, including winning a match against world No.1 Magnus Carlsen. But he also suffered five consecutive defeats in the Rapid round of the tournament and finished third in the overall standings.

The rare participation in the Early Titled Tuesday indicates that Gukesh is determined to improve his game in the faster formats.

“Rather shockingly, one of the rare occurrences is seeing current world chess champion Gukesh actually playing in a Titled Tuesday event,” Nakamura said on his YouTube channel after winning the Early Titled Tuesday title. “He has played this event before, but it’s very rare to see him play.”

While Gukesh rarely plays online Blitz games, Carlsen, Nakamura, and India's Arjun Erigaisi are often seen competing in Titled Tuesday and Freestyle Friday online tournaments. These tournaments are hosted by Chess.com with the winner taking home a prize of $1,000.