St. Louis Rapid & Blitz: D Gukesh Defeats Fabiano Caruana and Wesley So to Reach Fourth Place
Teenage Indian Grandmaster D Gukesh moved up to fourth place in the St. Louis Rapid & Blitz standings after securing victories over American stars Wesley So and Fabiano Caruana, despite a surprising loss to Leinier Dominguez Perez on Thursday.
Gukesh began the day with his third consecutive defeat, yet he still climbed to fourth, with 18 blitz games remaining in the USD 175,000 prize-money tournament, which is part of the Grand Chess Tour.
Caruana leads the rapid section with 14 points, even after losing to Gukesh. Close behind is Levon Aronian, now representing the USA, with 13 points. France’s Maxime Vachier-Lagrave occupies third with 11 points, just one ahead of Gukesh, who has displayed an up-and-down performance so far.
Dominguez, Wesley So, and Uzbekistan’s Nodirbek Abdusattorov share fifth place with nine points, two points ahead of Vietnam’s Liem Le Quang. American Sam Shankland is ninth with five points, while Grigoriy Oparin sits at the bottom with three points.
Against Dominguez, Gukesh held a promising position but slipped in the late middle game, allowing his opponent to penetrate the seventh rank—a move that proved decisive.
Gukesh also secured a strong position against Wesley So, gaining significant compensation for a pawn. So struggled under the pressure and ultimately lost in the penultimate round of the rapid segment.
In the final rapid round, Caruana almost outmaneuvered Gukesh, but a crucial oversight turned the tables, giving Gukesh a decisive edge.
Rapid Round 7 Results:
- D Gukesh (IND) lost to Leinier Dominguez Perez (USA)
- Levon Aronian (USA) defeated Sam Shankland (USA)
- Nodirbek Abdusattorov (UZB) drew with Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA)
- Grigoriy Oparin (RUS) lost to Fabiano Caruana (USA)
- Liem Le Quang (VIE) drew with Wesley So (USA)
Round 8 Results:
- Wesley So lost to Gukesh
- Caruana defeated Liem
- Dominguez drew with Vachier-Lagrave
- Shankland drew with Abdusattorov
- Oparin lost to Wesley
Round 9 Results:
- Gukesh beat Caruana
- Liem drew with Aronian
- Abdusattorov defeated Dominguez
- Oparin lost to Shankland
- Wesley beat Oparin
Standings After Rapid Round 9:
- Fabiano Caruana (14)
- Levon Aronian (13)
- Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (11)
- D Gukesh (10)
5-7: Leinier Dominguez, Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Wesley So (9 each)
- Liem Le Quang (7)
- Sam Shankland (5)
- Grigoriy Oparin (3)
