Gukesh Loses to Young FM Sergey Sklokin at World Blitz

World champion Gukesh Dommaraju faced an unexpected setback at the FIDE World Blitz Championship 2025 in Doha when he lost to 12-year-old FIDE Master Sergey Sklokin in the third round. The defeat proved particularly striking given Gukesh’s significant rating advantage, with the Indian grandmaster holding a blitz rating of 2628, a full 228 ELO points higher than his young opponent’s 2400.

The Blunder Under Pressure

The turning point arrived late in the game when time became a critical factor. On move 70, with Gukesh controlling just eight seconds on his clock against Sklokin’s thirteen, the Russian prodigy offered a rook exchange. At this juncture, Gukesh was already down a pawn, and accepting the exchange would have likely resulted in a drawable position. Instead, the world champion declined the offer, playing 70…Rf4 to maintain winning chances. This aggressive decision backfired immediately. Within a few moves, Gukesh lost a bishop followed by his remaining pawn, forcing resignation after ten additional moves.

Blitz Not His Strongest Format

Grandmaster Maurice Ashley, commenting on the official FIDE broadcast, termed Gukesh’s decision possibly “the blunder of the round,” suggesting his known reluctance to accept draws may have hindered him. The loss follows a mixed performance at the FIDE World Rapid Championship, where Gukesh finished 20th with six wins and two losses. Before the Doha event, the 19-year-old had emphasized that classical chess remains his primary focus, using rapid and blitz tournaments mainly for experimentation rather than pursuing victories at all costs.

Despite this setback, the defeat underscores the unforgiving nature of blitz chess and the razor-thin margins separating elite players at the highest competitive level.