D. Gukesh misses the final GM-norm by a whisker

Requiring a minimum of 2.5 points from the last three rounds to complete his third and final GM-norm, D. Gukesh could manage only two, thereby missing the world record by the smallest of margins.

Even though Gukesh has time till December 29 to make history, the next event he will complete will be in Mumbai only on December 30.

At the home stretch, D. Gukesh stumbled and failed to make history of becoming the youngest Grandmaster in the world. But the Chennai-lad finished the Sunway Sitges International chess tournament in Barcelona on Sunday with a creditable 6.5 points out of 10 rounds.

Requiring a minimum of 2.5 points from the last three rounds to complete his third and final GM-norm, Gukesh could manage only two, thereby missing the world record by the smallest of margins.

In the eighth round, Gukesh drew with GM Santos Latasa Jaime, and in the ninth, he missed a good chance to beat a lower-rated Alexander Demianjuk of Russia, which finished in a draw in 70 moves. And in the 10th and final round, he played aggressively to outwit USA's Justin Sarkar in 18 moves.

Even though he has time till December 29 to make history, the next event he would complete will be in Mumbai only on December 30.

"I tried my level best even though I had my chances in the ninth round. I am happy with my game [overall] and have been playing consistently well in the last three months," Gukesh told Sportstar on Sunday.