16 Year Old Abhimanyu Mishra’s Stunning Win, New Chapter Begins In Chess

World Champion D. Gukesh Dommaraju suffered a major blow in a very beautiful scene in the recent chess history at the 2025 FIDE Grand Swiss in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. During the fifth round it happened when the 16 year old American Grandmaster Abhimanyu Mishra conquered Gukesh, which was a big feat and made the youthful talent to enter in the books of records. Mishra also passed Gukesh to become the youngest to defeat a sitting world champion in a classical game, having not only done it himself earlier at the age of 18 but also in the process making him the youngest ever to win a world championship.

Neck to Neck Rounds between D Gukesh and Abhimanyu Mishra 

It was a theatrical duel of two of the most talented young players of chess. Not only was the entrance into the scene a change of power in the rising generation, but it also stressed the high competition that defined contemporary chess by Mishra. The outcome was the first competitive defeat in many years by Gukesh since he became the world champion, a rare defeat that underscores the pressure on the top players now by young competitors. It was another blow to India, with England’s R Praggnanandhaa, the highest rated Indian player, losing, earlier in the tournament, to the hands of Germany’s Matthias Bluebaum. Mishra was not deterred and he humbly stated after his breakthrough that, though he won, it was not as satisfying as my previous games because it was not a really clean game. Nevertheless, he admitted that the tournament was a success and he had a new self confidence stating that he considered himself the same as the best in the world.

D Gukesh’s Previous rounds

Meanwhile in the second round Gukesh had previously been drawn with 14 year old Turkish sensation Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus, proving the strength of the new generation of young talent. The story in Samarkand now extends abruptly to the interactions of drastic guard, as pupils such as Mishra are no longer receiving worldmaster status they are now in free fall and replacing established world masters. The chess world is spell bound by this generation clash.

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