Magnus Carlsen ruled his rivalry with the ruling world champion D. Gukesh by performing a sharp, unapable evaluation before their highly anticipated clash on the suphenized and blitz Croatia 2025. “In his words”, in his words, “one of the predictable treasures”.
“I think Gukesh played here for the last time,” Carlsen said at a press conference before the tournament in Zagreb. “However, it remains to prove that he is one of the best players in this format. We have a very, very strong field that Gukesh has done nothing to indicate that he will do well in such a tournament.
Blunt’s notes add fresh fuel to the rivalry, which has been suffocated since their last meeting in Stavanger. Last month in the Norwegian chess, Gukesh stunned Carlsen In a dramatic classic game coming from behind to give Norwegian a rare defeat from a winning position. Carlsen, visibly anxious, frustrated the table frustrated-out of the pieces scattered when he quickly became viral and captured the shock of the five-time world champion who was released by the eighteen.
This meeting came in a classic time control, where Gukesh did his brand. However, the third stage of the Grand Chess Tour, starting with July in Zagreb, is moving to Fast and Blitz – a domain of long dominating Carlsen and where Gukesh was limited.
Both are set to three times during the event three times – with fast and twice in blitz – between 3 and 6 July. Their clash of 3 July will mean the first meeting from this unforgettable battle of the 6th round in the Norwegian chess, where Carlsenova Implice and Gukesh’s composition overturned the script.
For Gukesh, who became the youngest classic world champion in history at the beginning of this year, it is now a challenge to prove that it is one of the elite in shorter formats. He will have a company in Compariot Pragggnanandha R, the winner of Bucharest and one of the most in the form of players on the circuit.
Meanwhile, Carlsen has no confidence. When he was asked to name the best candidates, he was direct: “If I’m in good shape, he’ll beat me something special.” He chose Alireza Firouzja as his “bright other favorite” and left doubts about how he sees the field – and his place in it.
Gukesh can be a world champion, but the words Carlsen are a reminder of the one who is still considered a measure of the game. So the challenge is that the young Indian rises to the pace of fast and blitz – formats where instinct and experience often exceed the calculation.
On the eve of the tournament, the former world champion Garry Kasparov offered pointed advice – perhaps for Gukesh, such as for the growing generation of the chess world: “At the moment you cease to improve – in fact you will stop thinking about improvement.
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Published:
Saurabh Kumar
Published on:
2 July 2025
