Magnus Carlsen wins Grand Chess Tour Zagreb: My B-game is enough
Carlsen had earlier complained about not enjoying his chess during the Rapid round. Even after his win in Zagreb, Magnus sounded unconvinced, stating that it did not feel like he had won.'It doesn't feel like I've won, really. It feels like I just came here, played alright, and nobody really did anything special in the end, and then I usually end up winning!' Magnus told Take Take Take app in an interview.After his poor outing in Rapid, the Blitz portion brought a complete reversal of fortunes. Gukesh lost five of his first six Blitz games on Day 1, drawing one and winning just one. His rhythm was off, nerves visible, and the crisp precision of his Rapid games was nowhere to be found. A final-round loss to compatriot R. Praggnanandhaa capped a disappointing Blitz performance that saw him lose six games on the first day alone.In stark contrast, Carlsen unleashed what he later called a 'decisive' run, scoring 7.5/9 on the opening Blitz day to erase Gukesh's lead and seize control of the leaderboard.'I felt that I struggled most of the event. Partly because it was a very strong field this year. There weren't a lot of weaker players at all. It wasn't obvious who was going to score poorly and who was going to score well against the others. It felt like, especially in Rapid, chances were kind of hard to come by. I had one good day yesterday (the first day of the Blitz section on Saturday) and that turned out to be enough,' Carlsen told the broadcaster in an interview on the final day.He went on to add: 'It speaks to the fact that it was a fairly even tournament overall. Nobody could really break away from the pack. It doesn't feel like I won. It feels like I just came here and played alright. Nobody really did anything special in the end. Then I usually end up winning,' he concluded.- EndsTrending Reel
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First Post
2 hours ago
- First Post
FIDE announces list of players for the 2025 Grand Swiss: Will Magnus Carlsen participate in the event?
FIDE has announced a star studded lineup for the upcoming Grand Swiss event. It will be the tournament's 4th edition, and be held from September 3 to 16. read more Advertisement A still of Magnus Carlsen. Image: Norway Chess 2025 The FIDE Grand Swiss is set to return for its fourth edition, featuring a star-studded lineup of young talents vying for top spots ahead of the 2026 Candidates. The tournament will take place in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, from September 3 to 16, promising another thrilling competition in a Swiss system format. Also Read | 'He deserved a D…': Viswanathan Anand grades Gukesh's performance at Norway Chess 2025 Total players taking part in FIDE Grand Swiss It is one of the most significant tournaments in the Chess calendar and will serve as a gateway to reach the Candidates tournament. The 11-round Swiss format competition will witness 172 players take part – 116 in the Open and 56 in the Women's tournament. As per the rules, those who finish top two in both Open and the women's competition will qualify for the 2026 Candidates tournament, where the challenger for the current World Champion will emerge. Aside from pushing the rightful qualifiers for the Candidates, the 2025 Grand Swiss will also render a notable prize fund, which has been considerably increased from the last edition. The prize fund in the Open is $625,000 and $230,000 in the Women's competition. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Also Read | Kasparov feels Gukesh not yet ready to conquer Blitz after sudden loss of form in Croatia: 'Something is wrong…' The Open tournament Out of 116 players in the open, 101 have qualified by rating and the rest of the spots have been allocated to Continental representatives, six FIDE wildcards and five are nominated from the local organiser. From India, No.1 seed Arjun Erigaisi and World Champion D Gukesh will be there in the tournament along with R Praggnanandhaa and Nihal Sarin. Moreover, prominent players like Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Alireza Firouzja, two-time world champion candidate Ian Nepomniachtchi, Anish Giri, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, Levon Aronian and Vladimir Fedoseev will take part in the tournament too. Further bolstering the young presence at the event are Hans Niemann (22), Vincent Keymer (20), Javokhir Sindarov (19), and Awonder Liang (22), who are all among the top 20. Former candidate for the title of world champion Boris Gelfand and former Women's World Champion challenger Aleksandra Goryachkina have also received wildcard invitations and will feature in the tournament. Also Read | Carlsen downplays victory at SuperUnited Rapid & Blitz Croatia: 'I had one good day… that turned out to be enough' The Women's tournament In the Women's Grand Swiss, 44 players have qualified by rating. Four additional players will join them from Continental spots, four via FIDE wildcards, and another four as nominations from the local organiser. The Women's Grand Swiss features a strong lineup, including top players like Tan Zhongyi, Humpy Koneru, Anna Muzychuk, and Kateryna Lagno. Past winners Vaishali Rameshbabu and Lei Tingjie are also participating, alongside young talents like Divya Deshmukh, Lu Miaoyi, and Leya Garifullina, promising an exciting competition. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The full list of participants of the Women's Grand Swiss can be found here: Open: Women: Major Misses While the tournament will feature most of the heavyweights, the final boss, Norway's Magnus Carlsen won't be present at the event. Plus, Viswanathan Anand, as well as heavyweights who participated in previous Grand Swiss tournaments – Le Quang Liem and Peter Svidler, will not participate. Former World Champion Ding Liren will also remain absent from the FIDE Grand Swiss tournament. With Carlsen missing the event, there will be no Gukesh vs Magnus at the tournament. The rule requiring 30+ classical rated games between July 2024 and June 2025 is the reason behind the exclusion of several high profile names.
Time of India
5 hours ago
- Time of India
Viswanathan Anand rates D Gukesh's Norway Chess showing: 'He deserved a D'
D Gukesh (Norway Chess via PTI Photo) Gukesh D, who became the youngest world chess champion in history by defeating Ding Liren last December, has experienced a mixed journey in recent months. In his first tournament as world champion at Tata Steel chess in Wijk aan Zee, he nearly clinched victory before losing to Praggnanandhaa in a tie-break. His performance then declined in several Freestyle Chess events. At the Weissenhaus leg of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour, he struggled with zero wins, 11 draws, and six defeats. He continued to face challenges at the Paris leg and the Superbet Chess Classic Romania in Bucharest, where he secured just one win, six draws, and two defeats. However, Gukesh made a strong comeback at Norway Chess. He achieved his first classical victory over world number one Magnus Carlsen , which led to Carlsen's notable fist-smashing reaction. He also secured his first classical win over fellow Indian player Arjun Erigaisi. He remained close to Carlsen throughout the tournament, finishing third overall. Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW! Viswanathan Anand , a five-time world champion and Gukesh's mentor, has been closely monitoring his progress. When asked about Gukesh's recent performance at Norway Chess, Anand upgraded his assessment. "I think I will go up to B. He deserved a D, but he got a lot of answers correct somehow (at Norway Chess). So that's a B. Given that he survived and based on his points, I would give him a B," he told Before Norway Chess, Anand had given Gukesh a lower grade in his six-month assessment. "I think I would say only 'D minus', but Wijk aan Zee is pulling him to 'D plus' maybe or 'C minus'," he had said. "He played extremely well (at Wijk aan Zee). Kind of rebound effect. I mean, you always have this fear that after the world championship, you suddenly have some emptiness. But in fact, for him, the first event was extremely successful. The rest of the year has been much more discreet, which is also maybe normal. Everybody treats him differently. He's finding his way. What would I put on a report card? I think 'needs further improvement' is kind of obvious; 'Must work harder'… something like that. He's still very strong and he just needs to find the right connections again." Poll How do you assess Gukesh D's performance at Norway Chess? Excellent Good Average Below Expectations In a later interview, Anand discussed Gukesh's performance at Norway Chess, noting areas for improvement. "At Norway Chess, Gukesh made a lot of questionable decisions in his moves and not in time trouble. He did it in the earlier phase of the game. Quite some people criticized that and I think the criticism is fair. Some of it at least," the five-time world champion added. "The two games he won with Magnus and Arjun are really the questionable ones. I'll grant you all that. But then let me turn the same question: How many people in the world can beat Arjun and Magnus from these positions? There are many things to criticize about his play. He was under the same time pressure as them. Second, if Hikaru or Magnus had escaped from some of these positions, we'd just say, 'But they're very strong.' Same logic has to apply here. "I'm sort of conflicted. On the one hand, I feel that we can't just say he played a great tournament because he finished on 50%. Also, the fact that you have such defensive skills doesn't mean you should be depending on them all the time. For instance, most countries have armies in order not to use them all the time. You don't want to depend too much on these skills. But you have to say he was very resourceful." Game On Season 1 continues with Mirabai Chanu's inspiring story. Watch Episode 2 here.
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First Post
9 hours ago
- First Post
'He deserved a D...': Viswanathan Anand grades Gukesh's performance at Norway Chess 2025
Former world champion and the current vice-president of FIDE, Viswanathan Anand has shared his view on Indian GM Gukesh's performance at the Norway Chess 2025. Gukesh has not been at his best for the past few months, failing to win titles across formats. read more D Gukesh had become only the second Indian after Viswanathan Anand to be crowned chess world champion after defeating Ding Liren in Singapore in December. Image: FIDE/Reuters Indian Grandmaster Dommaraju Gukesh has not had the best few months after becoming the world champion last December. While he has displayed some good performances in classical chess, Gukesh is yet to prove himself in other formats, including Freestyle Chess and Blitz. Anand's view on Gukesh's performance in Norway After Gukesh's recent showing at the 2025 Norway Chess tournament, five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand provided his verdict on his game. In an interview with Anand graded Gukesh's performance in the event. 'I think I will go up to B. He deserved a D, but he got a lot of answers correct somehow (at Norway Chess). So that's a B. Given that he survived and based on his points, I would give him a B,' Anand was quoted as saying. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Gukesh had been going through a tough patch after winning the world championship last year. He narrowly missed winning the Tata Steel Chess tournament after losing a tie-break to compatriot Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa and then struggled in back-to-back Freestyle Chess events. His performance at Weissenhaus Freestyle Chess was very poor as he finished with zero wins, 11 draws, and six losses. The Paris Freestyle and Superbet Chess Classic Romania tournaments also didn't go well for the 19-year-old. However, Gukesh's performance at the Norway Chess event saw a big turnaround as he registered his first classical win over World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen, which also made headlines for Carlsen's angry reaction. Although he lost to Carlsen later in the tournament in their reverse fixture. Gukesh also beat fellow Indian star Arjun Erigaisi for the first time in classical format in 2025 Norway Chess. Gukesh stayed in the title race until the final round, eventually finishing third behind Carlsen and American GM Hikaru Nakamura. The Tamil Nadu-born player recently took part in the SuperUnited Rapid and Blitz Croatia, where he secured the first prize in the rapid section. However, Gukesh finished third in the blitz section and failed to win the title, which Carlsen took home thanks to his remarkable comeback in the later stages of the tournament. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
