4 min learnNew DelhiMight 8, 2026 11:42 PM IST
Chess is usually seen as a sport of quiet calculation, the place emotion is predicted to take a again seat to chilly logic. However there may be all the time room for a posture and some gestures carry as a lot weight because the fist pump. When world champion D. Gukesh defeated his challenger Javokhir Sindarov in a fast sport on the Tremendous Fast and Blitz match in Poland, his celebration was removed from delicate. And for these watching carefully, it spoke volumes. It was as if Gukesh was reminding who holds the crown.
That was Day 2.
On Day 4, the Uzbek prodigy – the identical one who has taken the chess world by storm with a World Cup triumph adopted by a Candidates victory – struck again. Sindarov had his revenge, defeating Gukesh within the blitz portion of the occasion to even the rating straight away.
It was a day of extremes for Gukesh. From 9 rounds of blitz, he walked away with simply 4 factors by way of three wins, two attracts, and 4 losses. The beginning couldn’t have gone a lot worse as he misplaced back-to-back video games by the hands of Radoslaw Wojtaszek and Alireza Firouzja. He lastly steadied himself with a draw in opposition to Vladimir Fedoseev earlier than snatching his first victory of the day in opposition to Wesley So.
The momentum evaporated instantly for the Indian because the highest-rated participant of the occasion, Fabiano Caruana, handed him his third lack of the day.
At that time, Gukesh was languishing on the backside of the blitz leaderboard with simply 1.5 factors from 5 rounds.
Gukesh in motion throughout Grand Chess Tour Poland. (Lennart Ootes/GCT)
The next spherical pitted him in opposition to Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. Gukesh had his probabilities however did not capitalise beneath time stress, finally settling for a compelled draw.
The Grandmaster from Chennai then pulled issues round in opposition to match chief Hans Niemann. After tumbling to him within the fast portion, Gukesh settled the rating in opposition to the American by squeezing out a full level with the black items.
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Niemann blundered a complete piece, hanging his rook within the haste of a blitz endgame. Gukesh saved his calm and noticed the error with simply seconds left on the clock, forcing Niemann to resign.
However the excessive of beating the match chief didn’t final lengthy. Gukesh went on to lose to Sindarov as their budding rivalry heated up in Warsaw. The 2 gamers will face one another one remaining time on the occasion on Saturday, in a reverse-blitz conflict to resolve who stays forward of their battle.
The day, nevertheless, ended on a successful observe for the Indian as he defeated his former second, Jan-Krzysztof Duda, within the ninth and remaining spherical.
Firouzja had the most effective outing within the shortest time management, racking up 6.5 factors, successful 5 video games and dropping only one.
With 4 factors from 9 rounds, Gukesh completed his day in eighth place amongst ten gamers after Day 1 of the blitz portion. After ending the fast occasion tied for fourth place, he slipped to fifth within the total standings
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Grand Chess Tour: Tremendous Fast & Blitz Poland 2026 Leaderboard
| Total Rank | Participant Identify | Fast Pts | Blitz Pts | |
| 1 | Hans Moke Niemann | 13 | 3.5 | 16.5 |
| 2 | Wesley So | 12 | 4 | 16 |
| 3 | Fabiano Caruana | 9 | 6 | 15 |
| 4 | Vladimir Fedoseev | 11 | 4 | 15 |
| 5 | Gukesh Dommaraju | 9 | 4 | 13 |
| 6 | Maxime Vachier-Lagrave | 8 | 4.5 | 12.5 |
| 7 | Jan-Krzysztof Duda | 9 | 3.5 | 12.5 |
| 8 | Alireza Firouzja | 6 | 6.5 | 12.5 |
| 9 | Javokhir Sindarov | 8 | 4 | 12 |
| 10 | Radoslaw Wojtaszek | 5 | 5 | 10 |