Nakamura had triggered a major controversy weeks earlier when he took Gukesh's king and threw it into the crowd after winning the Checkmate: USA vs India exhibition match.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
In the parallel mini-match on the opening day of the , Gukesh secured a win over Nakamura with a Ragozin Variation from a QGD. A dominant bishop positioned on d3, supported by pawns on c4 and e4, overwhelmed Black's position until resistance faltered, ChessBase reports.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Their second game reached a closed pawn formation, and peace was agreed on move 34. After the win, the two players shook hands with a smile, with Nakamura leaving immediately, and Gukesh followed his well-known ritual of calmly rearranging the pieces before getting up.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
After winning in the second round, Gukesh emerged as the sole leader after the opening day of the Clutch Chess: Champions Showdown. He scored four points from six games despite starting with a defeat against Magnus Carlsen. The Indian star recovered confidently with three wins and two draws to finish the day at the top.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Carlsen is closely behind with 3.5 points, having started strongly with two wins and two draws before losing to Hikaru Nakamura. Nakamura stands on 3 points, while Fabiano Caruana, who struggled in several encounters, is on 1.5.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The event\u2019s 18-game rapid double round-robin format (10 minutes plus a 5-second increment) will feature escalating point values each day: Wins are worth 1 point on Day 1, 2 on Day 2, and 3 on Day 3.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Carlsen is closely behind with 3.5 points, having started strongly with two wins and two draws before losing to Hikaru Nakamura. Nakamura stands on 3 points, while Fabiano Caruana, who struggled in several encounters, is on 1.5.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The prize from each game drawn will carry over into a Champion\u2019s Jackpot, which only the tournament winner will receive. In the event of a tie for first place, a playoff will be held to decide the winner.<\/p>\r\n\r\n