Daijiworld Media Network – St Louis

St Louis, Aug 12: Reigning world champion D Gukesh staged an impressive comeback on the opening day of the St Louis Rapid and Blitz tournament, part of the prestigious Grand Chess Tour, finishing joint third after two strong victories.

Gukesh had a shaky start, going down to American Levon Aronian in a tense Caro Kann battle. However, he bounced back in style, defeating Grigoriy Oparin in the second round before outclassing Liem Le Quang in the third. His spectacular queen sacrifice against Oparin, leading to a checkmate, drew praise from chess fans.

With four points from three rounds, Gukesh shares the third spot with American Wesley So. Aronian, fresh from his Las Vegas Freestyle Chess triumph, dominated the day with wins over Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, and Gukesh, topping the table with six points. Fabiano Caruana follows closely with five points.

The competition continues with more rapid rounds before switching to blitz, as Gukesh aims to climb further up the leaderboard.