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It was quite an important day for the record keepers in chess. Gukesh who was on 5.0/8 at the Sunway Sitges International 2018 had a chance to break Karjakin's record of becoming the youngest GM in the world if things went his way. This is what the situation was before the ninth round.
Gukesh vs Demianjuk – with German super-talent Vincent Keymer on the neighbouring board
Gukesh's average opponents' rating in the event was 2438.11. Checking the FIDE handbook you realised that for this rating average he needed to score 6½/9. As he was on 5.0/8 to get his final nine-round GM norm. This was impossible, so he needed to win the ninth round against Alexander Demianjuk (2344) to get on 6.0/9, and then be drawn against a very strong player — rated at least 2567 — to get his average opponents' rating up to 2451. Then 7.0/10 would give him the GM norm.
So in order to break Karjakin's record and become the youngest GM of all time Gukesh needed the following to go his way:
Gukesh was not able to beat his ninth round opponent Alexander Demianjuk and after trying for a long time had to settle for a draw. With 5½/9 he has chances of breaking into 2500 if he wins his final round, but the GM norm is out of his grasp. This time and in this event. Here the critical game:
Gukesh tried really hard, but in the end, he missed it by a whisker!
On the ChessBase India Facebook page Gukesh's father Rajinikanth wrote:
"It's been a fantastic year for Gukesh. Honestly at the start of 2018, if someone would have predicted and told me that at the year end he will be close to 2500 and completed his IM title and also has 2 GM norms in addition to Asian and World gold medals, I would have laughed it off. So it's that sort of miracle year. I am pretty happy with his efforts and results. Keep supporting him with all your blessings and prayers as I feel he wasn't destined for this record but who knows he has better things to target! Heartfelt thanks for all your support."
Another Indian super-talent: 11-year-old Bharath Subramaniyam completed an IM norm
Nihal Sarin played a fine game to beat his 2336-rated opponent
What it feels like not being able to beat a pint-sized GM: Adly Ahmed vs Praggnanandhaa
Read about chess prodigies and mini-GMs, with the latest list of youngest GMs
Watch the final round of the V Sunway Sitges Open 2018 on our Playchess server, with progress tables and PGN download of selected games, or visit the offical site