The ruling world champion D. Gukesh emphasized his growing figure on the global scene and won a quick title on Superunited Rapid & Blitz Tournament on Friday – part of the Grand Chess Tour – in Zagreb, Croatia. The 19 -year -old showed balance, tactical accuracy and blistering to end up 14 points out of the possible 18, sewing the highest honors in the commanding way.
His campaign began with an early load-Jan-Krzysztof Duda. But it only caused a remarkable turn. Gukesh responded five consecutive victories, including the clinical dismantling of World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen in 4 rounds, which is the result that put him firmly under the ranking.
In the final round, the United States ended a quick section with a signature over Wesley SO – a 36 -motion power, which used tactical supervision over the transformation of the edge of the material into two full points. It was a suitable end of running, which included six wins, two draws and a lonely loss.
Day 3 began with a quiet draw against the Dutch GM Anish Giri when players achieved almost locked Middlegame and shook hands. The second game of the day – against Croatian Ivan Arric – was a lengthy competition where Gukesh employed Marshall Gambit. The meeting of 87-doors eventually ended in a draw, but showed Gukesh’s readiness to fight for every inch.
Carlsen encouraged the last day to the last day and defeated Fabiano Caruan in his opening game, but the subsequent draw against Nodirbek Abdusattor’s paid his chance to close the gap. Duda, the only player who defeated Gukesh in Zagreb finished second and kept his consistency alive to the end.
R. Pragggnanandhaa, the second Indian in the field, had a more damaged trip. He raised one victory – against Aric – and pulled seven of his nine games and ended up with nine points. While outside of Zagreb, an 18 -year -old strong candidate remains in the overall ranking because he won the leg of Bucharest and secured the third place in Warsaw.
On Saturday, Blitz’s part of Superunited Rapid & Blitz begins and ends on 6 July. Combined points from both formats will be determined by the overall winner.
With two other stops that follow – in the United States (August) and Brazil (September -October) – Gukesh’s unexpected form in Zagreb could prove a determining moment in what is formed as a landmark for Indian chess.
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Published:
Saurabh Kumar
Published on:
4th July 2025
