However, Ohanyan called these pre-match assumptions into question in the very first game. After clawing back from a worse position with Black, he was suddenly winning. But, with seconds on the clock, he settled for a draw by perpetual check, shaking his head after the game concluded.

From there, Gukesh won every game until the halftime break—four games in a row. It looked like the Gukesh train was starting to roll away when the Armenian IM cut the streak in the next game, after a rook blunder by his opponent.

Ohanyan could have won the next two games, and Sachdev said on the broadcast: “This is a different Emin Ohanyan since what we saw at the beginning of the match!” But, despite the momentum, the following game ended in a draw and he blundered in the next.

After that, Gukesh won the last two games of the segment.

The last game was exciting as Gukesh sacrificed his queen for three minor pieces in the opening stage of the Taimanov Sicilian. After a long, dynamically equal battle, Gukesh’s “little army” overpowered the queen.

Blitz 3|1: Gukesh-Ohanyan 8-2

The “Gukesh effect,” as Hess termed it on the broadcast, took over in the second segment of the match as well. He won the first four games before missing an opportunity to sacrifice his queen in tactic-puzzle fashion and dropping the fifth. 

It was no harm no foul as Gukesh still led by an insane margin. He won the seventh game of the segment with a brilliant move. Can you find it?

White to move and win material.

Despite a few scares, including a brilliant rook sacrifice in game eight and a win by Ohanynan much later in the endgame, the Indian prodigy continued to dominate the match. He led by 12 points going into the bullet.

Bullet 1|1: Gukesh-Ohanyan 

Hurricane Gukesh continued to ravage the chess board. The games weren’t perfect, but as Sachdev said on air during game three: “Who cares?” It was about nerves and clock, and Gukesh came out on top.

In game four, Ohanyan had equal chances until he blundered a mate in one. Sachdev concluded: “Ladies and gentlemen, this is bullet for you!”

During the penultimate game, Hess summarized: “Gukesh, he ran away with this match early, and he continues to score points.” He finished the bullet portion with a brilliant rook “sacrifice,”

Gukesh makes $3,150, while Ohanyan earns $350 by win percentage. 

Blitz 5|1: Yoo-Pranav 2.5-5.5

SmarterChess predicted a victory for Yoo by 52% to 48%, meaning it was more or less a completely level match. Yoo won the JSCC in 2022. Pranav, on the other hand, is an unpredictable, up-and-coming player; he became India’s 75th grandmaster and gained 127 Elo in the last year.

Pranav, who boasted a 3007 blitz rating against his opponent’s 2889, took a one-point lead in the first two games, but then disconnected in a better position in game three.

This is our Game of the Day, annotated by GM Rafael Leitao below. (It will be added soon.)

In the last game of the segment, Yoo was able to win with the black pieces and cut down the lead to three points.

Blitz 3|1: Yoo-Pranav 4.5-3.5

Yoo’s moral victory in the final game of the previous segment extended to the next as the American GM won the first game. The players traded blows back and forth, but Yoo brought the match to a two-point margin by winning this segment.

Pranav seemed to be steering the ship back in his direction after winning two games in a row (three and four). In game four, he showed that opposite-color bishops—often leading to drawn endgames—can also offer winning chances if heavy pieces remain on the board.

But after a draw, Yoo won the next game on time. It’s not clear if Pranav disconnected, but it seemed so. After another draw, Yoo wrapped up the segment with another win in the last game after building an ideal pawn center and exploiting a backward pawn on c3.

Bullet 1|1: Yoo-Pranav 4.5-3.5

The tables were nearly turned in the bullet portion. The lead Pranav built up in the first segment came back to save him in the end.

Winning two of the first three games with one draw, Yoo evened the score for the first time in the match.