D Gukesh came face to face with world No 1 Magnus Carlsen for the first time since he was crowned world champion in December, only to suffer his second defeat of the ongoing Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour in Weissenhaus thanks to a late blunder.

Carlsen, the world’s highest-rated chess player since 2010, will take a seat in Weissenhaus, Germany, to compete in freestyle chess, previously known as Chess960 and Fischer Random. The starting position of the back row pieces is randomized, removing a top grandmaster’s lifetime of memorization and theory on how to open a chess game.

With a total of 3.5 points, world champion D Gukesh finished a rare event without a single victory, drawing seven games and losing two.

World Champion D Gukesh qualified for the knockout stage in the first event of the Freestyle Grand Slam Tour, despite losing to the world’s highest-rated player, Magnus Carlsen of Norway, in the ninth and final round of the qualifiers.

Magnus Carlsen questioned the validity of classical chess as a measure of skill, favoring rapid chess. Gukesh acknowledged the quality of their championship match, while Carlsen ruled out a title clash.

Freestyle Chess Grand Slam tour boss Jan Henric Buettner and all-time great Magnus Carlsen have called on International Chess Federation (FIDE) president Arkady Dvorkovich to resign after talks over an agreement about the new series fell through.

Classical World Champion D. Gukesh lost to World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen in the last round of the round-robin stage at the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam tour on Sunday.

Magnus Carlsen, a 34-year-old Norwegian, is among the greatest chess players of all time.

The 18-year-old reigning classical world champion didn’t win a single game in nine rounds but still managed to sneak into the top eight and qualify for the knockout stage

This isn't just another chess tournament though, with a public spat between Carlsen and the promoters of the FCGT with FIDE in the build-up to the tournament.