Canada stole three in the fourth end and won the game in eight ends.

Gushue, Mark Nichols, EJ Harnden and Geoff Walker improved to 4-2 to share 5th place with Japan’s Riku Yanagisawa.

We’re still in a position to choose our destiny, Gushue said. That’s all we can do and we’ll see what happens.

Of the four Canadians, three threw with over 90% efficiency. Gushue finished the match with a 94% percentage while Klima finished his match with a 78%.

They are perfectionists and you need that to be the best,” said Czech Republic coach Craig Savill. You can’t be bad and settle for something only good.

The top 6 teams in the group of 13 will take part in the knockout rounds at the weekend. Group stage matches conclude on Friday night at TD Place.

The Canada team returns to action on Wednesday, beginning a three-day, two-game streak. Every time, Gushue and his teammates play against strong opponents in the morning and in the evening.

Canada meets 2018 Olympic champion John Shuster of the United States on Wednesday night. In the final group games, the team will face Scotland on Thursday and Sweden on Friday.

Gushue, who won gold at the 2006 Olympics, has won silver at her last two world championships. His only title was at the 2017 edition in Edmonton.

The country’s last triumph was in 2018 when Jennifer Jones’ team triumphed in North Bay, Ontario.

The Canadians, led by Skip Kerri Einarson, won bronze at the World Women’s Curling Championship last month.