Saint Louis, Oct 30 (NationPress) Magnus Carlsen has claimed victory in the Clutch Chess Champions Showdown, while the reigning world champion Gukesh Dommaraju secured a fourth-place finish.

Carlsen triumphed over Gukesh twice and also defeated GM Fabiano Caruana on two occasions to clinch the title and take home the USD 120,000 grand prize, before facing GM Hikaru Nakamura in the final match. He managed to draw twice against Nakamura, resulting in an additional USD 50,000 bonus, totaling USD 170,000 over the three-day tournament.

Finishing in second place was Caruana with 16.5 points, nine points behind Carlsen, while Nakamura placed third with 14 points, and Gukesh rounded out the top four with 10 points.

On the concluding day, Carlsen won his first four matches, earning three points for each victory. His initial target was world champion Gukesh, whom he defeated twice more. Throughout the tournament, Carlsen bested Gukesh five times in total, with one draw.

“At one point, it was quite challenging to secure wins, and when that happens against this level of competition, it tends to go downhill quickly. Nonetheless, it was a fantastic experience, especially leading up to the World Cup. There are no better training partners than these three! The silver lining is that they won't be there,” Gukesh was quoted saying by Chess24.

Initially leading the tournament after winning the first game, Gukesh was unable to achieve further victories in the subsequent days. He faced two defeats against Carlsen on Day 2, followed by a draw in his opening game against Nakamura, whom he had previously overcome on Day 1 to redeem his loss in the Checkmate: USA vs India exhibition match.

In the second game on Day 2, the Indian GM had a lone opportunity in a fairly balanced rook endgame. However, he missed it, and the game concluded in a draw. He then lost the next game against Fabiano Caruana and ended the day with yet another draw.