Menorca Masters: Gukesh looks to stabilise form after difficult run

by Stefan Liebig
4/11/2026 – At the Menorca Chess Festival, one player is naturally in the spotlight: reigning world champion Gukesh Dommaraju. While on another, more easterly Mediterranean island his World Championship match opponent is being determined, the 19-year-old is taking part in a small but highly competitive rapid chess tournament. Following a series of disappointing results and his decision to significantly reduce his tournament schedule, he announced that he would forgo his place in this year's Grand Chess Tour. | Photo: Saji Mathew
Your personal chess trainer. Your toughest opponent. Your strongest ally.
FRITZ 20 is more than just a chess engine – it is a training revolution for ambitious players and professionals. Whether you are taking your first steps into the world of serious chess training, or already playing at tournament level, FRITZ 20 will help you train more efficiently, intelligently and individually than ever before. 

Between 7 and 12 April, the 5th Open Chess Menorca 2026 brings together more than 500 participants and combines a classical chess open tournament with a strong invitational. The latter is a ten-round double round-robin featuring world champion Gukesh Dommaraju as the headline name, alongside Nihal Sarin, Leinier Domínguez, Richard Rapport, Pentala Harikrishna and Ruslan Ponomariov. The strong field competes in rapid chess (30+10), with one to two games per day.

Gukesh in crisis?

Naturally, the focus is on Gukesh's participation. After his historic world title victory in 2024, the Indian grandmaster has experienced a clear dip in form in 2026. Results such as a shared last place at the Prague Masters, several losses at the Tata Steel Masters and a significant Elo drop mark a difficult phase in the career of the still only 19-year-old. Not only the results are noteworthy, but also the nature of his mistakes: recurring time-management issues and tactical errors from otherwise stable positions point to possible psychological strain.

Nihal Sarin lost with black to Leinier Domínguez. Otherwise, however, the Indian grandmaster has excelled in Menorca - after seven rounds, he is tied for first place with Ruslan Ponomariov. | Photo: Saji Mathew

Against this backdrop, Gukesh's participation in the Menorca Masters is difficult to assess. On the one hand, the tournament represents a shift to rapid chess, which is not among his strongest disciplines, but which could prove highly relevant in potential tiebreaks in a World Championship match. On the other hand, he is likely seeking to stabilise his form under competitive conditions. The fact that he was positioned in the lower half of the standings after three rounds, and then suffered a clear defeat against Nihal Sarin following draws with Domínguez and Ponomariov, underlines the issues described.

Nevertheless, he has since scored one more win and one more loss and will enter the final three rounds of the tournament in sole third place.

Standings after round 7

All games

Following withdrawal, Gukesh no longer a GCT regular

Alongside his participation in the Menorca event, Gukesh has announced that he will significantly reduce his tournament schedule and forgo his exclusive participation rights as a "regular" in the Grand Chess Tour 2026 in order to prioritise training periods. This does not mean he will skip the series entirely, however. He is set to take part as a wildcard player in the rapid and blitz events in Warsaw and Zagreb in June.

Gukesh thus explained why he withdrew from being a regular, citing his disappointing performances in recent events:

My performance in the last few events has been quite disappointing, not just for me, but for all of you who support me.

In order to find my best form my team and I have decided that I should compete with slightly less intensity over the next few months. Consequently, we feel it is in my best interest to skip long events away from home to allow for more dedicated training time.

With this in mind, I approached the Grand Chess Tour organizers and asked to play only two European Rapid & Blitz events. They were very supportive and understanding, and we agreed that I would participate in the Rapid & Blitz tournaments in Warsaw and Zagreb this year. I’m very grateful for their support. Respectfully, I am not planning to play any other events during the Grand Chess Tour schedule and will certainly be back for the full Grand Chess Tour in the future.

Sindarov joins the fray

The world champion's withdrawal is naturally a significant blow for the organisers of the Grand Chess Tour. However, they already have a prominent replacement lined up: Javokhir Sindarov, who is having a dream run at the Candidates Tournament, will take Gukesh's place in the GCT.

The two may meet to contest the next world title - after ten rounds of the Candidates Tournament, it certainly appears so...

Links

Two Super Grandmasters from India explain the ins & outs of Attack, Tactics an Calculations in these two video courses.

<< Bodhana Sivanandan Interview: Endgames, Mindset & Rapid Rise
Topics: Grand Chess Tour, Gukesh, Menorca Open 2026
Stefan Liebig, born in 1974, is a journalist and co-owner of a marketing agency. He now lives in Barterode near Göttingen. At the age of five, strange pieces on his neighbour’s shelf aroused his curiosity. Since then, the game of chess has cast a spell over him. Flying high in the NRW youth league with his home club SV Bad Laasphe and several appearances in the second division team of Tempo Göttingen were highlights for the former youth South Westphalia champion.
Discussion and Feedback Submit your feedback to the editors

See also

Is Gukesh calculating too much?

3/1/2026 – Is calculation becoming a strength that turns into a weakness? In this opinion piece, Ravi Abhyankar explores the delicate balance between calculation and instinct in modern chess. Can today’s elite players afford to rely only on deep calculation and ignore speed? Why does blitz matter so much for a classical World Champion today? By blending data, history, and modern realities, the article explains what dominance means in modern chess. | Photo: Grand Chess Tour / Lennart Ootes
More...
 11

See also

World Champion Gukesh plays in Prague Chess Festival

1/9/2026 – A reigning world chess champion has not played a serious game in Czechia for exactly 95 years. That is about to change. GM Gukesh Dommaraju, also known as Gukesh D, will take part in the 8th edition of the Prague International Chess Festival. The Indian prodigy has broken numerous modern chess records. The Festival, the most prestigious chess event in central and eastern Europe, will be held from 24 February to 6 March at Hotel Don Giovanni in Prague.
More...
 4

Video

60m The Two Knights

This entry into the 60 minutes series concentrates on the Modern variation of the Italian game where White opens the centre early : 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bc4 Nf6 4 d4 exd4 5 e5!. This line can be reached by various move orders, most frequently from the Scotch 3 d4 exd4 4 Bc4. It's a sharp variation and Grandmasters such as Evgeny Sveshnikov have used it frequently,with very good results. It's a perfect line for club players to adopt which is relatively easy to learn and which contains many traps. All the main responses are covered here, including 5...d5, 5...Ng4 and 5...Ne4 and the conclusion is that is is difficult for Black to equalize in a straightforward way. Problems are being posed, which over the board might prove tough to solve.