In round 5, the Indian player (Elo 2,767) lost to Abhimanyu Mishra (2,611). In round 6, despite being the white team and having a time advantage, Gukesh continued to lose to Nikolas Theodorou (2,646). This was the first time a reigning Chess King lost two consecutive standard chess games to opponents over 100 Elo.
In the match against Theodorou, Gukesh took the initiative to take a risk in the end to seek victory, but made tactical mistakes despite having a lot of time to think. Meanwhile, the 24-year-old Greek player - who was in the world's top 100 for the first time - took advantage of the opportunity and won.
Two consecutive losses have left Gukesh with only 3 points after 6 rounds, temporarily ranking 53rd on the rankings. He has also lost 8.6 Elo since the start of the tournament, increasing the gap with Magnus Carlsen to 81 Elo.
However, his achievements at the 2025 Grand Swiss will not affect Gukesh's place in the 2026 World Chess Final, as he is currently the world champion. The 19-year-old player's biggest goal now is to rise to the world number one position.
In the leading group after round 6, Parham Maghsoodloo (Iran) continued to hold the top spot with 5 points, followed by a group of 5 players with 4.5 points including Abhimanyu Mishra, Arjun Erigaisi, Matthias Bluebaum, Anish Giri and Nihal Sarin.
