D Gukesh and Divya Deshmukh in action at the Grand Swiss event. (FIDE/Michal Walusza) Gukesh vs Divya Deshmukh FIDE Grand Swiss 2025 Chess Round 8 Highlights: World champion Gukesh Dommaraju was held to a draw by Divya Deshmukh after a six-hour marathon game that involved 103 moves in round 8 of the FIDE Grand Swiss in Samarkand. There is a gulf of 289 points between Divya and Gukesh’s ELO ratings.
Nihal Sarin and German GM Matthias Bluebaum have agreed to a draw after just 21 moves a day after taking the joint lead in the FIDE Grand Swiss tournament on Thursday. The game between Arjun Erigaisi and Shant Sargsyan has also ended peacefully with both players splitting points.
Meanwhile, world champion Gukesh Dommaraju has used the Rossolimo Attack with white against Divya in a game that sees two of the most prominent flagbearers of Indian chess face off. Gukesh is coming into the clash after suffering three losses in a row while Divya has defeated two male grandmasters in the event so far.
At Grand Swiss, Gukesh has been held to a draw by 14-year-old Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus and played out a peaceful draw with Arjun Erigaisi, besides losing to 16-year-old American GM Abhimanyu Mishra, Greek GM Nikolas Theodorou and Ediz Gurel, a 16-year-old from Turkey.
Should Divya defeat Gukesh today, she will become the first woman to beat a reigning world champion in classical chess.
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INTERACTIVE: Gukesh vs Divya Deshmukh
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WATCH: The full Gukesh vs Divya Deshmukh game
Here are the other significant games involving Indian players at the FIDE Grand Swiss:
INTERACTIVE: Matthias Bluebaum vs Nihal Sarin
(On the chessboard below, click on the left and right arrows to trace the way the game has progressed so far)
INTERACTIVE: Richard Rapport vs Praggnanandhaa
(On the chessboard below, click on the left and right arrows to trace the way the game has progressed so far)
INTERACTIVE: Richard Rapport vs Praggnanandhaa
(On the chessboard below, click on the left and right arrows to trace the way the game has progressed so far)
Vincent Keymer vs Vidit Santosh Gujrathi
(On the chessboard below, click on the left and right arrows to trace the way the game has progressed so far)
INTERACTIVE: Shant Sargsyan vs Arjun Erigaisi
(On the chessboard below, click on the left and right arrows to trace the way the game has progressed so far)
INTERACTIVE: Vaishali Rameshbabu vs Bibisara Assaubayeva
(On the chessboard below, click on the left and right arrows to trace the way the game has progressed so far)
Gukesh loses 3rd game in row as world champion’s woes against younger prodigies continue; to face Divya Deshmukh today
World champion Gukesh Dommaraju reacts during a games at the FIDE Grand Swiss tournament. (PHOTO: Michal Walusza / FIDE)
In chess circles, there’s an informal club, whose membership swells by a little each year. It’s called the Mikhail Chigorin Club, named after the Soviet Union player who dueled in two World Championship matches against Wilhelm Steinitz but unfortunately lost both times. Membership of the the Mikhail Chigorin Club can be gained by defeating a reigning world champion in a classical chess game.
At the FIDE Grand Swiss tournament in Uzbekistan’s Samarkand, three players have already entered the club, with Ediz Gurel becoming the latest addition after taking down world champion Gukesh Dommaraju in round 7. Earlier, Abhimanyu Mishra and Nikolas Theodorou had also joined the club.
Even after a rest day at the FIDE Grand Swiss tournament on Wednesday, there was no change in teenage world champion Gukesh’s fortunes. He lost his third game in a row, this time to Ediz Gurel, a teenage prodigy from Turkey. The boy from Chennai who last year became the youngest world champion in chess history at the age of 18, has been troubled by even younger grandmasters at the Grand Swiss tournament in Samarkand.