‘Gukesh lost time, I escaped’: Theodorou rejoices as Indian GM suffers historic setback after incorrect draw claim

Greek Grandmaster Nikolas Theodorou was left perplexed by the game of world champion D Gukesh as the Indian teenage sensation suffered his second consecutive defeat after incorrectly claiming a draw by repetition at the FIDE Grand Swiss 2025 on Tuesday.

After suffering a world record defeat to Abhimanyu Mishra (Elo 2611) the other day, Gukesh (2767) was looking to make a comeback against Theodorou (2646), but it was not to be, as he suffered new ignominy. The 19-year-old Gukesh has become the first reigning chess world champion to suffer back-to-back classical defeats against opponents rated over 100 Elo points lower.

Gukesh’s incorrect draw claim

In the Round 6 match in Samarkand, Gukesh, playing with white pieces, faced Petrov’s Defense and took an early advantage despite playing a ‘rare’ c5 on the ninth move. The Indian Grandmaster, however, took multiple risks in the middlegame as the advantage was transferred to Theodorou, who, despite facing time trouble, completed a rook endgame and secured a famous win.

One of the most critical errors that Gukesh made was giving multiple checks, which made it easy for Theodorou to stay in the game and on move 38, the Indian chess star claimed a draw by repetition, but it was denied due to a mistake. It was only the second time Gukesh was giving a check with the King on e7. Theodorou got two extra minutes due to this mistake and played out the winning moves.

Interactive on how Theodorou defeated Gukesh

‘Gukesh’s mistake helped me a lot’

After his memorable win, Theodorou pointed out how repeated checks and an incorrect claim for a draw by Gukesh backfired against the world champion.

“He surprised me right out of the opening with this weird c5 move, which I think is extremely rare. I had never seen it before in that position,” Theodorou told FIDE. “At some point, I messed up and thought it should be a draw, but he started checking my king, lost time, and I managed to escape. After time control, I don’t think he had any chances to save it.”

“He even made an incorrect claim for a threefold repetition, so I got two extra minutes. That helped me a lot near time control.”

Check out the final moments as World Chess Champion Gukesh resigns against Nikolas Theodorou in Round 6 of the FIDE Grand Swiss. Gukesh is furious with himself, and quickly leaves the playing hall.

Video: @ram_abhyudaya pic.twitter.com/ELGrG1ku4e

— ChessBase India (@ChessbaseIndia) September 9, 2025

Theodorou, who was unaware of the huge attention the match attracted, also expressed happiness at winning his first game against a world champion in classical.

“It’s my first time against a world champion in classical. Of course, it felt special, but I tried not to think too much about people watching. I didn’t know about that, but it feels good

“I haven’t played too many top players yet, maybe fewer than ten. It’s good to challenge myself against such great opposition. For now, I just want to rest and prepare for the next rounds.”

Gukesh has now dropped to the 53rd spot in the FIDE Grand Swiss 20205 standings. He needs to win four out of the next five matches to stay in contention for the title.