Not many in India had heard of Frederik Svane. He is a German chess player, as is his brother Rasmus Svane. There are not too many examples of two brothers having secured the Grandmaster title. That’s not how Indian fans will remember the younger of the Svane siblings. The 21-year-old hit global headlines by eliminating D Gukesh from the third round of the FIDE World Cup in progress in Goa. The world champion’s departure will remain a highlight of this knockout event.
“It’s unbelievable and unexpected,” Svane told ChessBase India after his landmark win on Saturday. He had no hesitation in admitting that this was the biggest moment of his career. “I have never gone beyond the third round and I also think this is the highest-rated opponent that I have beaten… I didn’t know what to expect in the first game because he (Gukesh) can play anything. I thought he would try to surprise me, so I was basically looking at all the sidelines.”
There is a gap between the stature and ranking of the two players. Gukesh is ninth in the world and Svane 85th. That should have been a significant difference, but as it happens so often in sport, no one knows what comes from unexpected quarters. The Indian has not been in the best of touch after becoming the youngest-ever world champion last year. He did beat Magnus Carlsen in the classical and rapid formats in 2025. By and large, his performance was below expectations. For the first time in close to two years, he slipped out of the top 10, and although he returned to that bracket in November, this Goa debacle is likely to push him out of that league again.
Svane, who was playing with black pieces, felt he was under time pressure in the second game, although his position was not that bad. He added that his opponent made a few strategic mistakes, which allowed him to gain the upper hand. “After that, he (Gukesh) played rook to E1, which I thought was an insane move. I realised that this knight ending was definitely very tough for white. I felt I was strong but didn’t relax because these guys are so tenacious. After a while, I saw that I was winning.”
Gukesh’s defeat shows how tough chess is at this level. Reputations and past performances don’t matter, and a momentary lapse of reason can have huge repercussions. The German knows this and he is not complaining.
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