ARLINGTON,USA: Hikaru Nakamura stunned reigning world champion D Gukesh as the United States routed India 5-0 in the opening leg of Checkmate, an innovative live arena chess spectacle held in Arlington, USA.
Despite several tense and hard-fought games, the Americans delivered a dominant performance, capitalizing on key moments to clinch clutch victories across the board. Playing with the black pieces, the Indian contingent struggled to convert their chances and will now aim for redemption in the return leg on home soil.
World No. 2 Fabiano Caruana defeated Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi, while International Master Carissa Yip pulled off a surprise win over Grandmaster Divya Deshmukh. Popular streamer and International Master Levy Rozman overcame Sagar Shah, and rising American talent Tani Adewumi sealed the whitewash by beating prodigy Ethan Vaz.
India will hope to reverse their fortunes when they host the second leg of the high-stakes event later this year.
