India, March 4 -- Since becoming the world champion in December 2024, D Gukesh has been under plenty of pressure. Opponents are more motivated to face him than they usually are, and his form has also dipped. Now the Indian GM has fallen to world No. 20 in the live chess rankings after his recent defeat to Aravindh Chithambaram.

Gukesh resigned in his sixth-round game against Aravindh, and the defeat saw his ranking fall further, and he also fell to last place in the Prague International Chess Festival. After six rounds, the 19-year-old has lost three games, drawn the other three. The poor performance has cost him 19 rating points.

Against his countryman on Tuesday, Gukesh once again made a huge late blunder. He had to make five moves fr...