Hikaru Nakamura stuns D Gukesh as USA routs India 5-0 in Checkmate event

Hikaru Nakamura stunned world champion D Gukesh as India was whitewashed 0-5 by USA in the first Checkmate event, an evening of chess presented as a live arena spectacle in Arlington, USA.

While the match had many tense moments, with players from both teams creating multiple winning chances, it was the USA which rose to the occasion and clinched the tie.

Playing with black pieces, the Indians suffered a rough loss and will look to bounce back with white pieces in the return match in the second leg in India.

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While Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi lost to Fabiano Caruana, Grandmaster Divya Deshmukh suffered a shock defeat against International Master Carissa Yip.

International master Levy Rozman then defeated Sagar Shah before chess prodigy Ethan Vaz lost to International Master Tani Adewumi.

Published on Oct 05, 2025