St. Louis Rapid & Blitz: Gukesh Defeats Caruana, Climbs To Fourth Spot

St. Louis:

World champion D. Gukesh bounced back in style at the St. Louis Rapid & Blitz, overcoming early setbacks to secure wins over Wesley So and Fabiano Caruana, finishing fourth after the rapid section of the Grand Chess Tour event.

The 18-year-old Indian star began the final day of the rapid stage with a loss to Leinier Dominguez Perez of the United States the third consecutive day he opened with a defeat. However, he responded strongly in the remaining rounds, keeping himself in contention with 18 blitz games still to come in the USD 175,000 prize-money tournament.

GUKESH BEATS SOLE LEADER FABIANO 🔥

Gukesh stopped the dream run of Fabiano Caruana & handed him his first loss at GCT St Louis Rapid

Overall, Gukesh finished 4th after Rapid Rounds with 4 Wins, 3 Loss & 2 Draws – 10 Points

18 Rounds of Blitz will start next from 10:30 PM pic.twitter.com/QR7Bg6TYtT

— The Khel India (@TheKhelIndia) August 14, 2025

Standings After Rapid Section

Despite losing to Gukesh in the final rapid round, Caruana topped the table with 14 points. He was followed by Levon Aronian (USA) on 13 points, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France) on 11, and Gukesh on 10.

Leinier Dominguez, Wesley So (both USA), and Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzbekistan) are tied for fifth with nine points, two ahead of Vietnam’s Liem Le Quang. Sam Shankland (USA) sits ninth on five points, while Grigoriy Oparin (USA) is last with three.

Gukesh’s Day 3 Performance

1. Round 7: Gukesh misplayed a promising position against Dominguez, allowing the American to invade the seventh rank and secure victory.

2. Round 8: Against Wesley So, Gukesh exploited sustained positional pressure to force his opponent into errors, winning comfortably.

3. Round 9: Facing Caruana, Gukesh was on the defensive for much of the game but capitalised on a costly oversight from the American to turn the tables and clinch the win.

Also Read: Shubman Gill Poised For Leadership Role In India’s Asia Cup 2025 Squad

Round-by-Round Results

Round 7

1. D. Gukesh (IND) lost to Leinier Dominguez Perez (USA)

2. Levon Aronian (USA) beat Sam Shankland (USA)

3. Nodirbek Abdusattorov (UZB) drew with Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA)

4. Grigoriy Oparin (USA) lost to Fabiano Caruana (USA)

5. Liem Le Quang (VIE) drew with Wesley So (USA)

Round 8

1. Wesley So (USA) lost to D. Gukesh (IND)

2. Fabiano Caruana (USA) beat Liem Le Quang (VIE)

3. Leinier Dominguez Perez (USA) drew with Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA)

4. Sam Shankland (USA) drew with Nodirbek Abdusattorov (UZB)

5. Grigoriy Oparin (USA) lost to Wesley So (USA)

Round 9

1. D. Gukesh (IND) beat Fabiano Caruana (USA)

2. Liem Le Quang (VIE) drew with Levon Aronian (USA)

3. Nodirbek Abdusattorov (UZB) beat Leinier Dominguez Perez (USA)

4. Grigoriy Oparin (USA) lost to Sam Shankland (USA)

5. Wesley So (USA) beat Grigoriy Oparin (USA)

The blitz section of the tournament begins next, where Gukesh will look to maintain his momentum and challenge the leaders.