I cannot explain how that happened: Gukesh on his blunder against Abdusattorov at Tata Steel Chess 2026
Reigning world champion D Gukesh termed his blunder against Nodirbek Abdusattorov in the ongoing Tata Steel Masters Chess tournament as an ‘unexplainable one’.
The sixth-round clash between the two last week looked set for a draw before Gukesh played a calamitous rook move that tilted the game completely in his opponent’s favour. The Indian GM resigned immediately and was seen covering his face in shock.
“The best part about it is that I cannot even explain how that happened. These kinds of blunders are maybe easier to handle than something you can explain. So this just happens. Sh*t happens!” said Gukesh on Sunday.
Abdusattorov was apologetic for his rival. “I feel very sorry for him—it’s a terrible feeling. I’ve done it myself many times. It’s an absolutely horrible feeling,” he said after the match.
Gukesh’s struggles continued in the next round as he suffered another defeat to home favourite Anish Giri.
“I managed to move on [from the blunder against Abdusattorov]. But I think the more painful game was against Anish because I was just completely off and I played one of the worst games in quite a while,” said Gukesh.
The 19-year-old though bounced back in the eighth round by claiming a win against Vladimir Fedoseev. The result lifted him to joint-fourth in the standings.
“He’s a very interesting player, and we got a very interesting game,” said Gukesh on his match-up against Fedoseev.
Published on Jan 26, 2026