Saint Louis: Magnus Carlsen emerged triumphant at the Clutch Chess Champions Showdown, securing the top prize of USD 170,000 after a dominant performance across three days. Reigning world champion Gukesh Dommaraju finished fourth in the elite four-player event.
Carlsen defeated Gukesh twice and followed up with two wins over GM Fabiano Caruana to seal the USD 120,000 first prize before his final match against GM Hikaru Nakamura. He drew both games against Nakamura, earning an additional USD 50,000 bonus.
Caruana placed second with 16.5 points, trailing Carlsen by nine. Nakamura finished third with 14 points, while Gukesh ended with 10 points.
On the final day, Carlsen won his first four games, collecting three points per victory. He beat Gukesh twice again, bringing his tally against the Indian GM to five wins and one draw over the tournament.
Reflecting on the event, Gukesh told Chess24, “At some point it was very tough to start getting wins and when it's like that against this opposition, it usually goes downhill quite fast. But overall it was a great experience, especially before the World Cup. There are no better training partners than these three! The good thing is these three won't be there.”
Gukesh had started strong, winning the opening game and briefly leading the tournament. However, he struggled to maintain momentum, suffering defeats to Carlsen on Day 2 and drawing against Nakamura. He missed a key opportunity in a balanced rook endgame and later lost to Caruana, ending the day with another draw.
(Inputs from IANS)