Norway Chess: Erigaisi hands Gukesh second defeat in 2 days

WORLD champion D Gukesh suffered an early setback as compatriot Arjun Erigaisi broke through his defenses in the second round to move into a joint lead in Norway Chess in Stavanger.

Labelled as the favourite in the six-player double round-robin 'Open' category, Gukesh is scraping the bottom of the points table, having lost the opening two rounds.

World No.4 Indian Erigaisi has emerged as the joint leader with American Grandmaster Nakamura on 4.5 points.

Nakamura has stunned Magnus Carlsen in the Armageddon tie-break on an eventful day.

In an all-Indian clash, Erigaisi, playing with white pieces, seized the early initiative, but Gukesh's resilient defense created a somewhat equal endgame.

As the clock became a decisive factor, the position erupted into chaos before Erigaisi finally broke through to secure victory in a slugfest that lasted over four hours.

Erigaisi, who had spoiled Gukesh's party at the Tata Steel Chess earlier this year, again dealt a huge blow to the teenage world champion, beating him in 62 moves.

Erigaisi, playing in Stavanger for the first time, forced Gukesh to resign after giving him a check with his knight.

He will play American GM Fabiano Caruana in Round 3, while Gukesh will hope for a revival against Nakamura, one of the best in rapid and blitz chess.

Humpy loses

In the women's section, Ukrainian Anna Muzychuk claimed a convincing victory over two-time world rapid champion Koneru Humpy.

The Ukrainian gained a structural advantage from the opening and methodically increased the pressure.

However, both players made several mistakes in the endgame. Eventually, it was Koneru who made the last mistake, as a result of which Muzychuk won the game.

The other two women's games - between R. Vaishali Rameshbabu and China’s Tingjie Lei, and Spanish-Iranian player Sarasadat Khademalsharieh vs Ju Wenjun, ended in draws.