Saint Louis: Reigning world champion Gukesh Dommaraju faced a difficult day at the Clutch Chess Champions Showdown as he dropped to the bottom of the table with no wins, while Magnus Carlsen took the lead with four wins and two losses on the second day.
Gukesh, who began the day in the sole lead, suffered two defeats against Carlsen. Afterwards, he drew the first game against Hikaru Nakamura, whom he had previously defeated on the first game day to avenge his Checkmate: USA vs India exhibition match loss. In the second game, the Indian GM had a solitary opportunity in a relatively balanced rook endgame. However, he missed it, and the game ended in a draw. He lost the following game against Fabiano Caruana and finished the day with a draw.
Carlsen lost his first game of the event against Caruana. The World No.1 also suffered a second loss to Caruana. He has taken sole lead with 11.5/18. Caruana is close behind on 10.5. Nakamura and Gukesh are both on 7. Agencies
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