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India Today
06-07-2025
- Entertainment
- India Today
Magnus Carlsen trolls haters after Grand Chess Tour Zagreb win, deletes post later
Magnus Carlsen let his chess do the talking once again, capping a stunning comeback to win the SuperUnited Rapid and Blitz Croatia title — his sixth straight Rapid and Blitz triumph on the Grand Chess Tour. With 22.5 points overall, Carlsen pulled away from the field in emphatic fashion, sealing the title with a final-round blitz win over local favourite Ivan aric. His blistering 7.5/9 on the first day of blitz had already set the stage, and a solid 5/9 on the final day was enough to finish 2.5 points clear of Wesley So, who took silver with 20 teenage prodigy and reigning world champion D Gukesh, who had dominated the rapid stage and even humbled Carlsen in Round 6, had to settle for third. He finished with 19.5 points, undone by a brutal collapse in the blitz ever the competitor, also had the final word — or meme, rather. He posted a cryptic celebratory image online after clinching the crown, a subtle jab at critics and perhaps a nod to those who questioned his comments earlier in the week. However, he delated the post from his X account later on Sunday. Just days earlier, the Norwegian had sparked controversy by calling Gukesh 'one of the presumably weaker players' in the field, a comment that raised eyebrows considering the Indian teenager had recently defeated him in classical format at Norway Chess. Gukesh responded the best way possible: with his second consecutive win over Carlsen, this time with Black in rapid, a calm and clinical performance that pushed him to the top of the that point, Gukesh looked like the man to beat. He stormed through the rapid stage with six wins, including victories over elite names like Carlsen and Wesley So, to finish clear at the top with 10 points. He held a three-point lead heading into the blitz and looked poised to make ROARS, GUKESH CRUMBLES IN BLITZBut 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 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 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.'From the morning, I felt this would be a tough day,' Carlsen said afterward. 'It was a very strong field but I'm happy to come out on top.'His second day of blitz wasn't as dominant, but his early lead gave him the cushion to close out the tournament without win marks Carlsen's sixth successive Rapid & Blitz title on the Grand Chess Tour, reinforcing his stranglehold on faster formats. While Gukesh has proven he belongs at the top, and his rapid triumphs over Carlsen cannot be ignored, the blitz segment exposed a gap in consistency, one the young Indian will no doubt look to close as he for his part, leaves Croatia with a bronze medal and the satisfaction of having beaten the sport's biggest name yet again. But for now, Carlsen's redemption arc is complete and the king of blitz remains firmly on his throne.- Ends
The Hindu
03-07-2025
- Sport
- The Hindu
Magnus Carlsen on taking on Gukesh at GCT Zagreb: I will approach it as if I am playing a weaker player
Magnus Carlsen has said that he will approach his upcoming match against Indian world champion D Gukesh as if he is coming up against 'one of the presumably weaker players.' 'I think Gukesh played quite well here last time, but it remains to be proven that he's one of the best players in this format,' said the Norwegian in the buildup to the pair's showdown at the Global Chess Tour, Rapid and Blitz tournament in Zagreb. READ ALSO: GCT 2025, Zagreb: Gukesh in four-way lead with Carlsen, So and Duda after opening day 'We have a very, very strong field…Gukesh hasn't done anything to [show] that he's going to do well in such a tournament. I hope, for his sake, that he can do better. But playing him in this tournament, I will approach it as if I'm playing one of the presumably weaker players (in the tournament),' Carlsen further added. The former world champion also named Alireza Firouzja as a 'clear second favourite' in the competition. Carlsen and Gukesh will meet thrice in Zagreb, once in rapid and twice in blitz. The first of these will be on July 3, marking the first time the two will face after their well-publicised meeting at the 2025 Norway Chess, where the Indian claimed a stunning victory.
Indian Express
01-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
WATCH: Ceremonial first moves at Norway Chess made by people sporting traditional Indian mundus
The ceremonial first moves in the fifth round of the Norway Chess tournament on Saturday were made with a distinctly Indian flavour: six Indian-origin owners of a South Indian restaurant in Stavanger made the first moves on all the six boards while wearing white mundus. The ceremonial first move is a chess tradition where special guest can make the first move on behalf of the player with white pieces. The player can then take back the move and play their actual first move as per their opening prep, or continue with the same move. The owners of a South Indian restaurant named Spisoh, which is also a partner of the Norway Chess tournament, made the ceremonial first moves on Saturday. All the four Indian players, D. Gukesh, Arjun Erigaisi, Koneru Humpy and R. Vaishali have been ordering their meals from the restaurant while in Stavanger for the ongoing Norway Chess tournament. A post shared by Chess With Lokesh (@chesswithlokesh) Five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand and player-cum-commentator Tania Sachdev recently visited the restaurant on the rest day for lunch. 'Last time Magnus Carlsen broke FIDE tradition by wearing jeans to a game (at the FIDE world Rapid and Blitz tournament in December 2024). We wanted to extend that and show a fairly unknown India to the West by wearing our traditional dress to the strongest chess tournament in the world. We were not being disrespectful here, we did ask for prior permission to do this,' said Rathish Kunnath, one of the co-owners of the restaurant. A post shared by Chess With Lokesh (@chesswithlokesh) At the halfway stage of Norway Chess, reigning world champion Gukesh finds himself in the last position with 5.5 points in an extremely strong field of six players. Carlsen is the runaway leader with 9.5 points, USA's Fabiano Caruana and Hikaru Nakamura in the second and third place, respectively. Arjun sits fourth while China's Wei Yi is fifth ahead of Gukesh. In the women's section, Humpy is leading the pack with 8.5 points while the other Indian, Vaishali is fourth with 6.5 points.
