Gukesh to take on Nakamura in India vs USA chess showdown

Hindustan Times

01-05-2025

In what appears to be a cracking and unique face-off, reigning world champion Gukesh will take on world No 2 Hikaru Nakamura, Arjun Erigaisi will go up against Fabiano Caruana and Divya Deshmukh will play Carissa Yip in a India vs USA chess match scheduled to take place at the Esports Stadium in Arlington, Texas on October 4. The second leg of the match is reportedly expected to take place later in India.
The match – Checkmate; USA vs India – will consist of five rounds, played sequentially, one board at a time before a live audience in the 2500-seater stadium. Players will have 10 minutes per game and if drawn, the overtime game will give players five minutes each. If still drawn, a one-minute shootout game will be played and should it still be drawn, an additional minute per player games will be played till a winner emerges. American players will play White on all boards to mark home advantage.
Apart from the top three duels, two of the most influential chess content creators and International Masters, Levy Rozman and Sagar Shah will go up against each other while USA's Tanitoluwa Adewumi will take on India's Ethan Vaz in the battle of prodigies.
'This is the kind of event that elevates chess to the next level. India has become one of the most exciting forces in global chess, and I'm thrilled to take them on in front of a live crowd here in the US. We want to show the world that America is home to some of the best players in the game and that chess can be as thrilling and competitive as any major sport,' world No 2 Hikaru Nakamura said.
Checkmate Strategic Ventures, the organizers of the event, is pitching this event in an attempt to 'reshape' the future of chess viewing.
'Chess is a global language, spoken by over 600 million players and yet, its full power has never truly been unleashed on the world's biggest screens,' Salim Belcadi of Checkmate Strategic Ventures, lead organizer of the series said. 'After witnessing the sold-out crowds and millions of (online) viewers at the Fide Candidates 2024, it became clear: chess is no longer just a game. It's a spectacle waiting for its stage.'
Line-up:
Hikaru Nakamura (USA, world No 2) vs Gukesh D (India, world champion)
Fabiano Caruana (USA, world No 5) vs Arjun Erigaisi (India, world No 4)
Carissa Yip (USA) vs Divya Deshmukh (India)
Levy Rozman (USA, GothamChess) vs. Sagar Shah (India, ChessBase India)
Tanitoluwa Adewumi (USA) vs. Ethan Vaz (India)