Despite leading the leaderboard on Day 1 of the just concluded Clutch Chess: Champions Showdown, D Gukesh finished last in the standings. Magnus Carlsen overcame Gukesh in five of six games and won the exhibition event. There was a draw in one game.
D Despite leading the table on Day 1 of the just concluded Clutch Chess: Champions Showdown, Gukesh finished last in the rankings. Magnus Carlsen overcame Gukesh in five of six games and won the exhibition event. There was a draw in one game.

D Gukesh is prepared for the World Cup of Chess.
When the FIDE Chess World Cup starts on November 1, Gukesh will be the top seed. Carlsen, Caruana, and Nakamura have chosen not to participate in the event.
Overall, though, it was a fantastic experience, particularly prior to the FIDE World Cup. Carlsen, Nakamura, and Caruana are the best training partners there is, in my opinion. The good news is that none of these three will be competing in the World Cup. I therefore had superior training than what I will encounter. I hope it helps," he continued.

The World Cup will be Gukesh's ideal prelude to defending his world championship title the following year. The Candidates 2026 competition will also be open to the top three finishers at the World Cup. The top 50 seeds will advance to the second round of the World Cup, which will be an eight-round knockout competition. In the meantime, the teams that lost the two semifinals will play one another for third place.