Just a day after Magnus Carlsen described him as “one of the weaker players”, Indian D. Gukesh gave the answer to the chessboard. Eighteen -year -old defeated World No. 1 with black pieces in the sixth round of Superunited Rapid and Blitz Croatia, part of the Grand Chess tour on Thursday. It was his second direct victory over Carlsen and took him to the top of the ranking as the only leader with 10 points out of six games.
This time there was no angry table. There is no irritated sigh on the social media. But again Carlsen was forced to resign against the ruling world champion. Their previous clash, in the Norwegian chess last month, ended with Carlsen visibly spewing after a rare classic defeat. This time in Zagreb it was a quick game, but the result was the same. Gukesh, calm and clinical, again gained better of the Norwegian.
At the beginning of the week Carlsen during the discussion of the field in Croatia made pointed notes, with reference Gukesh as one of the “probably weaker players“. It was a comment that picked up the eyebrows, especially due to their recent history.
When they finally sat overboard for their match, Gukesh arrived first, took a few quiet moments on himself and waited. Carlsen opened with English and seemed to have a upper hand after 18 … NH5 19.bf2!. But Gukesh, unwavering, confiscated the initiative with a sharp 26 … D5. Carlsen began to slip, and as his position deteriorated and his hours checked under a minute, the pressure said. After 49 movements resigned.
It was a controlled, ensured power from Gukesh-A reminders that he was no longer an outsider. He plays as the same among the biggest names of the game.
“Now we can question Magnus’ domination,” Garry Kasparov said about the commentary. “That’s not just another loss. It’s convincing. Gukesh not only earned the mistakes-play better.”
The result ended a remarkable day for a teenager. He began with a loss to Jan-Krzysztof Duda, but he bounced strongly and defeated Alireza Firouzja and Indian r Pragggnanandhaa before Carlsen took off. Three victories on trot by the end of the day.
“After the loss of the first round I wasn’t very daunting,” Gukesh said. “Duda got a good position and played well.”
Carlsen’s Day was more uneven. He won a long -drawn meeting against Wesley, but had to settle for draws against Ivan Arric and Duda. Now Gukesh hitchhiking four points aimed at the last day of the fast section. In the Grand Chess Tour format, fast winnings have a value of two points, while Blitz’s games that follow are offering one point for victory.
Wesley was the only other player except Gukesh involved in all crucial games on the day. He defeated the countryman Fabian Caruan and the Dutch GM Anish Giri.
Meanwhile, Gukesh is finishing the second day of a quick section on 10 points from a possible 12. With the momentum on his side, the teenager is firmly under control and shows no signs of slowing.
– ends
Published:
Saurabh Kumar
Published on:
3 July 2025
