Gukesh Defeats Nakamura in Clutch Chess 2025, Shows Grace After Controversial Incident

TL;DR

Indian grandmaster D Gukesh won a rapid mini-match 1.5-0.5 against Hikaru Nakamura at Clutch Chess Champions Showdown 2025 in St. Louis.
The match followed a controversial October exhibition where Nakamura threw Gukesh’s king into the crowd after winning.
Gukesh’s calm and dignified post-victory behavior, including resetting the board without celebration, was widely praised.
The event took place October 27-30, featuring four top players, with Gukesh leading after day one.
The tournament has progressive scoring with a $412,000 prize fund and features rapid games with increment time control.

The match was viewed as a “revenge match” after Nakamura’s controversial act in the earlier Checkmate: USA vs India exhibition where he tossed Gukesh’s king to the crowd.
Gukesh’s composed response post-victory, shaking hands, calmly resetting the board, and leaving, was praised for humility and sportsmanship.
Besides beating Nakamura, Gukesh scored well overall on day one with wins and draws, leading the tournament standings.
Other participants Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana had mixed results; Carlsen lost to Nakamura but finished half a point behind Gukesh after day one.
The tournament uses a points system increasing per round-robin day: 1 point per win on day one, 2 on day two, 3 on day three, plus scaled monetary bonuses.
The rapid time control is 10 minutes plus 5 seconds increment per move, and the prize fund totals $412,000.

Players	Game 1 Result	Game 2 Result	Match Result (Mini-match)
D Gukesh vs Hikaru Nakamura	Gukesh won 1-0	Draw 0.5-0.5	Gukesh wins 1.5-0.5
Magnus Carlsen vs Hikaru Nakamura	Nakamura won 1-0	Draw 0.5-0.5	Nakamura wins 1.5-0.5
Magnus Carlsen vs Fabiano Caruana	Caruana won 1-0	Draw 0.5-0.5	Caruana wins 1.5-0.5
D Gukesh vs Fabiano Caruana	Draw 0.5-0.5	Draw 0.5-0.5	Draw 1-1