Stavanger (Norway), May 28: World champion D Gukesh finally got his campaign back on track on his 19th birthday, defeating World No. 2 Hikaru Nakamura of the United States to open his account with three points in Norway Chess on Thursday.

Gukesh, who suffered back-to-back defeats to World No. 1 Norwegian Magnus Carlsen and countrymate Arjun Erigaisi in the first two rounds, put Nakamura -- one of the best Rapid and Blitz players -- under time pressure to win the game in 42 moves. Norway Chess 2025: D Gukesh Suffers Successive Loss As Arjun Erigaisi Pulls of Victory Over FIDE World Champion 

Gukesh, who was constantly under time pressure in the last two games, was the one who got Nakamura staring at the clock in round three of the six-player double round-robin tournament.

“I feel quite good (about the win). I think my time management was much better today than before. He (Nakamura) had some drawing chances, but I guess, overall, it was good," he said after the match.

Asked if he would be comfortable in the Armageddon tie-break as the tournament progresses, Gukesh, whose core strength lies in Classical chess, said, “Yeah, I mean at some point it will come for sure. But right now, I'm just happy with this (win).”  Indian Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi Beats Wei Yi To Open His Account in Norway Chess 2025.

Gukesh, who beat Ding Liren of China for the world title last December, acknowledged that the last two games, which he lost, were “tough” on him. “Obviously, the last two games were kind of tough. But today I just tried to play it as a fresh tournament. Glad I played (like that)," he said.

Asked if the win was a direct consequence of managing the clock better than previous days, he conceded it was “clearly horrible” time management in the last two games. “Glad my time management and my game were pretty good (today),” he said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)