World Champion D Gukesh endured a painful defeat against Nodirbek Abdusattorov on the fifth day of the Prague International Chess Festival, extending his losing streak to five consecutive games. Playing with the black pieces, Gukesh held a promising position and built a strong middlegame advantage, only to falter under time pressure, allowing Abdusattorov to secure victory.

This marks the second time in a month that Abdusattorov has defeated Gukesh from a superior position, the previous instance being at the Tata Steel Masters. The loss drops Gukesh to world number 17 with a live rating of 2734.5, while Abdusattorov rises to 2778.3.

Meanwhile, Dutch Grandmaster Jorden van Foreest continued his excellent form, defeating Hans Moke Niemann to take the lead in the Masters section with four points. Defending champion Aravindh Chithambaram also suffered a defeat to David Anton Guijarro, while local favourite David Navara thrilled fans with a win over Nodirbek Yakubboev.

Gukesh now faces an uphill battle to revive his campaign in the remaining rounds, with just 1.5 points and a rest day ahead to regroup.