Gukesh earns $20,000 at Freestyle Chess Grand Slam despite 8th place finish

World chess champion D Gukesh finished in eighth place at the German leg of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam after losing his final game to Iranian-French grandmaster Alireza Firouzja in the seventh-place playoff on Friday.

Despite his eighth-placed finish in a ten-player event, the 17-year-old earned $20,000 for participating in the event.

In his final game, Gukesh struggled to find a rhythm against Firouzja and lost in 30 moves. 

Gukesh faced a challenging tournament and ended his campaign without securing a single victory. Nevertheless, his participation fee highlights the lucrative nature of the competition.

Germany's Vincent Keymer clinched the title after defeating Fabiano Caruana in the championship final, earning $200,000. Caruana received $140,000 for his second-place finish, while World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen secured third place with a prize of $100,000.

Gukesh entered the tournament with high hopes, having become the youngest world champion in December. The event also underscored the growing popularity of Chess960, also known as Fischer Random Chess or Freestyle Chess, despite initial resistance from FIDE, the world governing body of chess.