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D Gukesh proved why he is the World Chess Champion when he held his own on Day 1 of the 'Clutch Chess: Champions Showdown’ at St. Louis, Missouri, USA. This is a short rapid chess tournament that features the four top players of the world. Apart from Gukesh, the other participants are Magnus Carlsen, Hikaru Nakamura and Fabiano Caruana. While Gukesh got off to a poor start against Carlsen, he came back strongly with two back to back wins against Nakamura and Caruana. The win against Nakamura would have felt extra special, especially after the Japanese grandmaster victory over Gukesh a few days ago, and his insulting actions after that. In an exhibition even earlier this month titled 'Checkmate: USA vs India’, Nakamura defeated Gukesh. After the victory, he threw the Gukesh's king piece into the crowd, and celebrated in his face. Even though the world champion did not react then, he answered not with words, but a strong performance a few days later. Here's what happened: On Day 1 of the Clutch Chess: Champion Showdown event, Gukesh started off with a 0.5-1.5 loss to Magnus Carlsen in Round 1. However, he came back strongly against Hikaru Nakamura, known to be world's best rapid specialist, with a 1.5-0.5 win. However, after his win, Gukesh remained calm and did not celebrate extravagantly like his opponent did few days ago. ALSO READ: Gukesh Ready for Chess World Cup in Goa, Vidit Gujrathi Shares His ‘Survival Kit’ Gukesh rounded off Day 1 with a resounding 2-0 win against Fabiano Caruana. He thus finished Day 1 in the lead with 4/6 points. 'It Was Purely Entertainment' Hikaru Nakamura defended his gesture after the 'Checkmate: USA vs India' event, saying that this was pureluy for entertainment purposes and not an insult. He also offered the chance for Gukesh to sing a Bollywood song next time he defeated him “It was not an insult… If it were a serious event, like the Candidates, of course, you would never do such a thing. Nobody would! It doesn’t matter if it was Magnus Carlsen, Hans Niemann, Anish Giri, or me. But this was a purely entertainment event," Nakamura had said. D Gukesh did not comment a single word on this incident.
