New Delhi: World chess champion D Gukesh suffered one of the toughest defeats of his young reign, losing to 16-year-old American prodigy Abhimanyu Mishra in the fifth round of the Grand Swiss tournament.

A Record-Breaking Win

Mishra, born in New Jersey to Indian parents, had already made history as the youngest-ever Grandmaster at 12 years and four months. With this latest win, he set another milestone — becoming the youngest player to defeat a reigning world champion in classical chess, surpassing Gata Kamsky’s 1992 record of beating Garry Kasparov at age 18.

How The Game Unfolded

Playing with the white pieces, Mishra opened with the King’s Pawn, leading to a Giuoco Pianissimo setup. The turning point came with his 12.dxe5 move, a bold piece sacrifice that caught Gukesh off guard.

“Whether it’s Gukesh, the world champion, or anybody else, if I think a move is best, I’m going to play it. So I went for dxe5,” Mishra said after the game.

A few moves later, his c7 pawn advance paralysed Gukesh’s position, though Mishra admitted he briefly “panicked” after misjudging the counterplay. Despite some inaccuracies, his precise rook maneuvers and relentless g-pawn push sealed victory after a gruelling 61-move battle lasting nearly six hours.

Symbolism Of The Defeat

For Gukesh, who became the youngest world champion at 18, the loss is seen as a symbolic crack in his aura of invincibility. The defeat also came just days after Uzbek GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov predicted Gukesh would lose his crown in the next title match — comments five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand had brushed off as playful banter.

For Mishra, however, the triumph marks another high point in his rising career. “This is going better than I could have possibly imagined. I’m gaining around 20 points already. If I keep up this form, I have a very real chance of winning the tournament,” he said.

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