A 12-year-old Russian chess talent has delivered one of the shocks of the World Blitz Championship in Doha, defeating the reigning world champion in a dramatic late-game collapse.
Sergey Sklokin overcame 19-year-old Indian Grandmaster Gukesh Dommaraju on Friday, despite being heavily outrated and holding only the FIDE Master title.
The upset unfolded at the World Blitz Championship in Doha, where games are played at a frenetic pace of three minutes per side with a two-second increment per move. Time pressure proved decisive. On move 70, with just eight seconds remaining, Gukesh declined a simple rook exchange that would have secured a draw. The decision backfired, and Sklokin calmly converted the advantage, forcing resignation ten moves later.
The win marked Sklokin’s third straight victory in the Swiss-system tournament, which spans 19 rounds and concludes on December 30, placing the young Russian among the early leaders. While Gukesh is the youngest classical world champion in history, he has previously downplayed his expectations in faster formats, saying he entered the rapid and blitz events to “experiment, enjoy and play chess.”
Reacting to the result, Russian Chess Federation vice president Sergey Smagin said the victory was “very pleasing,” while noting that blitz chess often creates opportunities for lower-rated players to spring surprises. “Sergey Sklokin is a good boy; we’ll see what his future holds,” Smagin said, adding that moments like this are encouraging signs of potential yet to be fulfilled.
Indian Grandmaster and World chess champion suffered an ignominious loss to a 12-year-old, Sergey Sklokin, on Monday during the World Blitz Championship in Qatar.
Playing with white pieces, Sklokin, who is a FIDE Master, started with e5 and forced the Indian to resign on the… pic.twitter.com/tOpe7V65yY
— Sportstar (@sportstarweb) December 29, 2025
12-year-old Sergey Sklokin defeats the World Champion after an exciting back-and-forth battle! ♟️🔥 pic.twitter.com/HzzqaY7F1A
— chesspress (@thechesspress) December 29, 2025
