World champion Gukesh off the mark with win over Nakamura

D Gukesh. Pic/AFP

World champion D Gukesh finally got his campaign back on track on his 19th birthday, defeating World No. 2 Hikaru Nakamura of the United States to open his account with three points at the Norway Chess tournament on Thursday.

Gukesh, who suffered back-to-back defeats to Norwegian World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen and compatriot Arjun Erigaisi in the first two rounds, put Nakamura - one of the best Rapid and Blitz players - under time pressure to win the game in 42 moves.

"I feel quite good [about the win]. I think my time management was much better today than before. He [Nakamura] had some drawing chances, but I guess, overall, it was good," he said after the match.

Asked whether he would be comfortable in the Armageddon tie-break as the tournament progresses, Gukesh, whose core strength lies in Classical chess, said, "Yeah, I mean at some point it will come for sure. But right now, I'm just happy with this [win]."

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