Norway Chess: Arjun Erigaisi hands Gukesh second straight loss

The reigning world chess champion Gukesh Dommaraju fell to his second consecutive loss at the 2025 Norway Chess in Stavanger as Arjun Erigaisi triumphed in the battle of Indians on Tuesday.

Playing with the black pieces for a second straight match, Gukesh deployed the Nimzo Indian defence but was outplayed by a well-prepared Erigaisi.

Gukesh was taken by surprise by the opponent's speed and preparation as he took nearly 20 minutes to think on just the eighth move.

Erigaisi dug deep into this theoretical understanding of the position deep into the middle game, forcing the world champion into a deep calculations more often than note.

With an increment of just ten seconds per move, Gukesh struggled to manage his time and eventually erred under pressure.

Though he looked to hang on and salvage a draw for the longest of period, he eventually resigned on the 62nd move being two pawns down in a completely lost position.

While the loss marked Gukesh's second defeat in as many matches in the tournament, Erigaisi continued to build on his momentum winning his second match.

Erigaisi had beaten China's Wei Yei in an intense Armageddon in the first round on Monday.

Vaishali, Humpy lose

Meanwhile in the women's event, India's R Vaishali and Koneru Humpy fell to defeats in their respective matches on Tuesday.

While Humpy fell in the classical format to Anna Muzychuk, R Vaishali managed to play out a draw against China's Lie Tingjie.

Vaishali was then handed white pieces for the Armageddon tiebreak and was forced into a must-win situation to earn a bonus point with a three-minute advantage on the clock.

The Indian looked in control for around 20 moves in the Armageddon but soon crumbled to concede the bonus point.