World Champion Gukesh Dommaraju commented on a critical blunder against Nodirbek Abdusattorov in round 6 of the Tata Steel Chess in Wijk aan Zee. He also noted the unpleasant feeling after his defeat to Anish Giri in the 7th round. The World Champion shared his thoughts in an interview with The Indian Express on January 26.

Gukesh Dommaraju

Gukesh Dommaraju

World Champion

“Honestly, I cannot explain at all what happened in the game against Nodirbek.

The best part about the blunder is that I cannot even explain how it happened. In a way, those kinds of blunders are perhaps easier to handle than the ones you can actually explain. This just happens — I mean, shit happens — it’s what happened.

After that, I managed to move on. But, I think the more painful game was against Anish Giri, because there I was completely out of sorts and played one of my worst games in a long time.”

The Tata Steel Chess Masters 2026 takes place in Wijk aan Zee, Netherlands from January 17 to February 1. Gukesh Dommaraju has participated in Tata Steel Chess three times, finishing second place and missing the championship in tiebreaks in both 2024 and 2025.

Credit: ChessBase India