There were two new frontrunners on Thursday at the $625,000 Grand Swiss in Samarkand on the ancient Silk Road, after Iran’s Parham Maghsoodloo, who had led for the first six rounds, was beaten. after newsletter promotionMeanwhile, Gukesh lost again, this time against the little-known Greek GM Nikolas Theodorou. It got worse for Gukesh in round seven when, after reaching a won position against Turkey’s other young star Ediz Gurel, 16, he blundered into defeat. There could be a message here for the St Louis-backed Grand Chess Tour and the Freestyle Grand Slam. Vaishali took a clear lead in round seven when she overwhelmed her Chinese opponent with a classic attack by queen, knight and pawns on a castled king.

Source: The Guardian September 12, 2025 08:31 UTC