Gukesh Stumbles: World Champion Suffers Third Consecutive Loss at FIDE Grand Swiss Alternatively: FIDE Grand Swiss: Gukesh's Title Hopes Fading After Another Defeat; Sarin Joins Leaders

World champion D Gukesh suffered his third consecutive defeat at the FIDE Grand Swiss in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, losing to 16-year-old Turkish Grandmaster Ediz Gurel in the seventh round on Thursday. This loss came after previous defeats to USA's Abhimanyu Mishra and Greece's Nikolas Theodorou.WATCH: Gukesh reaction after losing to Ediz GurelDespite a rest day, Gukesh's performance continued to decline as he made a critical error, losing a bishop in the endgame. With three points from seven matches, he must win all remaining games to stay competitive. His desire to win the title, however, is not possible anymore.Indian GM Nihal Sarin moved into joint lead after defeating overnight leader Parham Maghsoodloo of Iran. German GM Matthias Bluebaum, who won against Arjun Erigaisi, shares the top position with Sarin at 5.5 points.Sarin joined the tournament leaders after defeating previously unbeaten Maghsoodloo. Sarin's victory against Maghsoodloo showcased exemplary play on both flanks. Using the Queen pawn opening as white, he successfully created an advantage and capitalized on Maghsoodloo's calculation error, delivering a brilliant finish with his queen and knight combination.Seven players are tied for second place with five points, including Vidit Gujrathi, Alireza Firouzja, Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Hans Niemann, and Abhimanyu Mishra. All secured victories in their seventh-round matches.R Praggnanandhaa advanced to 4.5 points after defeating Israeli GM Maxim Rodshtein. He joins a group of 10 players at this score, including Erigaisi and Pranav Venkatesh.Notable results in the Open section included Anish Giri drawing with Abhimanyu Mishra, Alireza Firouzja defeating Nodirbek Yakubboev, and Hans Moke Niemann winning against Yagiz Kaan Erdpgmus.Other Indian players showed mixed results, with V Pranav drawing against Jordan Van Foreest, Abhimanyu Puranik drawing with Levon Aronian, and P Harikrishna drawing with Sanan Sjugirov.In the women's section, defending champion Vaishali Rameshbabu claimed sole leadership by defeating Chinese IM Guo Qi, marking her fifth win in the tournament. GM Divya Deshmukh also secured a victory in her match.In the women's section, several crucial matches saw Antoaneta Stefanova drawing with Kateryna Lagno, Bibisara Assaubayeva defeating Irina Bulmaga, and Mariya Muzychuk winning against Afruza Khamdamova.Additional women's results included Song Yuxin's victory over Ulviyya Fataliyeva, Tan Zhongyi defeating Dinara Wagner, and Alexandra Kosteniuk drawing with Dronavalli Harika.The tournament holds significant importance as the top two finishers from both men's and women's sections will qualify for the 2026 Candidates tournament, which determines the challenger for the World Championship match.