Gukesh suffers maiden Classical loss as World Champion

The two had met twice before in Classical games, with both encounters ending in draws. Read further on Dynamite News

Bucharest: French Grandmaster Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FIDE rating 2723) defeated reigning World Champion D Gukesh (2787) in the fourth round of the Superbet Classic, registering his first victory over the Indian teenager in Classical format.

The two had met twice before in Classical games, with both encounters ending in draws. However, on Saturday, the 2021 World Blitz Champion capitalised on a critical positional error by Gukesh to claim a full point and inflict the 18-year-old’s first Classical defeat since becoming World Champion.

The decisive moment came on move 22, when Gukesh opted for 22...c5?, a strategic misstep that allowed White to seize the initiative. The more solid continuation 22...Rab8 might have offered Black better chances to equalise. From there, Vachier-Lagrave demonstrated flawless technique, improving his piece coordination and gradually building pressure on the queenside.

Faced with an imbalanced pawn structure and lack of harmony among his pieces, Gukesh was unable to mount a meaningful defence as his queenside pawns collapsed under pressure.

The win marked a significant statement by Vachier-Lagrave, reasserting his credentials among the world elite, while Gukesh will look to regroup ahead of the remaining rounds.

In another encounter, India’s R Praggnanandhaa (2758) held Romanian Grandmaster Bogdan-Daniel Deac (2668) to a draw. Interestingly, the two had also drawn at the same event last year, with colours reversed this time.