Chess, Armageddon: Kramnik storms out of studio furiously – drama at Gukesh victory

Status: 10:07 p.m | Reading time: 3 minutes

AAt the end, the youngest player in the field was allowed to be congratulated. Gukesh Dommaraju, 16 years old, won Asia week at the Armageddon Championship Series (live on WELT). The Indian beat Nodirbek Abdusatturov 1.5 to 0.5 after a dramatic finale. A few moments after his triumph, a smile flitted across the face of the young grandmaster on the way through the Berlin chess club Unter den Linden to the winner’s interview.

“I am very happy. I won a very strong event,” explained Gukesh after his victory. “I would still say that classical chess is my forte, but I’ve done well in blitz now too. In the first game, I actually outplayed my opponent, but his defense was brilliant. I’m actually very proud of the last game.”

In the final of the losers branch, Wladimir Kramnik and Nodirbek Abdusatturov had previously played for the final against Dommaraju Gukesh and participation in the finals week in September. It was to be a turbulent encounter.

Kramnik storms out of the chess studio

Kramnik, who has been officially retired for four years, pushed the pressure off of himself at the Armageddon Championship Series earlier this week. “I’m not a professional player anymore, but I still enjoy playing chess, especially with fast time controls. It’s also a pleasure for me to meet my colleagues here,” the former world champion told WELT.

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In the first duel against Abdusatturov, a balanced position developed before Kramnik suddenly had better chances of winning with the black pieces towards the end of the game. “Abdusatturov plays a little too fast for my taste,” remarked WELT commentator Niclas Huschenbeth. The Uzbek saved a draw in the end. “Nevertheless, a success for Kramnik, but he will definitely be annoyed because something more could have been done,” said Huschenbeth.

In great distress, Abdusatturov tried to claim a draw in the second game shortly before his game clock ran out, because in his eyes there were said to have been the same position on the board three times. And indeed, after viewing the video images, the referee decided on a draw. “I’m very impressed that he recognized this under such time pressure,” said expert Huschenbeth, paying tribute to the Uzbek.

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In Armageddon, Kramnik started with black and four minutes on the clock, Abdusatturov with white and five minutes. But a draw was enough for Kramnik in the final. After Kramnik had worked his way into a better position, the old master ran out of time. The Russian lost the crucial game and angrily stormed out of the studio. “It was really tough because he played brilliantly. In the end I just wanted to stay in the game because I saw that his time was running out,” said Abdusatturov, referring to the exchange of blows with Kramnik.

Gukesh keeps his nerve

After a short breathing space, Abdusatturov then took on Gukesh. The Indian, who had already become a grandmaster at the age of 13, was on course for victory with White for long stretches, only to then have to accept a draw in the endgame. However, as Abdusatturov had already lost to Gukesh during the tournament week, the Uzbek needed two wins against his opponent for the overall victory.

After a resignation from Gukesh it was clear: There are two more blitz games since both players now have the same tournament record. The first game ended in a draw, in the second – possibly decisive – Gukesh went with a slight advantage due to the white stones, which he finally used to win. Both will compete in the final week in September.