Latest news with #SuperUnitedRapid&BlitzCroatia
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First Post
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- First Post
WATCH – Magnus Carlsen asked to define Gukesh in one word, his reply will leave you in awe
Magnus Carlsen and other top chess players describe world champion D Gukesh in one word in a fun viral video. From 'wholesome' to 'fighter,' here's how they see the young Indian star. read more Magnus Carlsen recently lost two games to Gukesh in as many meetings. A fun video is going viral on social media, where some of the world's top chess players were asked to describe the current world champion D Gukesh in just one word. The light-hearted interaction was recorded during the recently concluded SuperUnited Rapid & Blitz Croatia tournament. Carlsen on Gukesh Five-time world champion and current World No.1 Magnus Carlsen also joined the fun. When asked to define Gukesh, Carlsen said 'wholesome', perfectly describing the young Indian star's humble and calm personality. Other elite players also had their say. Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa called him 'world champion', while American GM Fabiano Caruana went with 'phenomenal.' Dutch GM Anish Giri described Gukesh as a 'sportsman,' and Alireza Firouzja called him a 'fighter.' STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Define Gukesh in one word! — - India (@chesscom_in) July 23, 2025 Carlsen had beaten Gukesh in the opening round of 2025 Norway Chess but then suffered this dramatic loss in Round 6. It was Carlsen's first-ever classical game loss to the Indian star. Despite the heartbreak, Carlsen went on to win the event, while Gukesh finished third. Also Read: 'Only reason to do this is to get on social media': Vishy Anand slams Magnus Carlsen for heated reaction after Gukesh loss Then in Croatia, Gukesh once again defeated Carlsen after the Norwegian legend made a blunder. Once again, Carlsen managed to put aside the hiccup and went on to win the tournament with a total of 22.5 points and $40,000 cash prize. Gukesh finished third and won $25,000. Gukesh was supposed to participate in the Las Vegas leg of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam event. However, the 19-year-old pulled out of the competition, citing his wish to prioritise preparations for the upcoming tournaments. It is important to note that Gukesh has not been at his best in Freestyle Chess and this could be one of the reasons behind his exit. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Meanwhile, Gukesh recently made a rare appearance in the Early Titled Tuesday online competition. The Indian star finished 18th after losing three games. Hikaru Nakamura, who is the current World No. 2, won the event.
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First Post
10-07-2025
- Sport
- First Post
D Gukesh's secret to his latest win over Magnus Carlsen revealed: 'Chess wise, it's a tricky period'
D Gukesh stunned world No.1 Magnus Carlsen in the Rapid section of the SuperUnited Rapid & Blitz Croatia as the world chess champion finished third in the tournament. Gukesh's coach Grzegorz Gajewski has now revealed how the famous win was made possible. read more World chess champion D Gukesh's famous win over world No.1 Magnus Carlsen in the Rapid section of the Grand Chess Tour event in Zagreb was a result of the 19-year-old Indian Grandmaster spending hours practicing faster time controls and making improvements to his overall game. By finishing third at the SuperUnited Rapid & Blitz Croatia 2025 and first in the Rapid section of the event, Gukesh showed that he is making rapid strides in the faster formats of chess. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Gukesh, who won the World Chess Championship at a record age of 18 last December against Ding Liren, is largely seen as someone who is only good at the Classical format. He has often found himself at sea in faster formats like Rapid and Blitz and Freestyle Chess, where a player doesn't always have the required time for calculations and a lot of moves are made based on gut feeling. In that context, Gukesh's recent performance at SuperUnited Rapid & Blitz Croatia was a welcome change as he defeated Carlsen in the Rapid section, his second consecutive win over arguably the greatest chess player of all time, after beating him at Norway Chess in Classical format. Gukesh's secret to his latest victory over Carlsen Gukesh's coach, Grzegorz Gajewski, who guided him to the world title, has revealed that the Chennai chess star is now dedicating significant time to practicing faster time controls and working on exercises to sharpen his play in Rapid and Blitz formats. 'We are doing some exercises strictly devoted to the faster time controls,' Gajewski told the New Indian Express. 'Just some training games and exercises.' Also Read | Gukesh shatters image of a one-format champion with latest victory over Carlsen and Rapid title in Croatia Gajewski added that besides getting Gukesh ready for faster time controls, he is also focussed on helping the Indian chess sensation deal with the growing pressure and expectations by reminding him that he is only 19. 'Chess wise, it's a tricky period because as world champion, the expectation is that much higher,' Gajewski said. 'In the process, many people forget that he's only 19. Sometimes, he even forgets that he's only 19. It's about managing his own ambitions, he's of course very hungry and just wanting to crush everybody on the board. But the reality is that the competition is very strong and many of his opponents are older, even the very young guys are older than him.' STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The Polish GM, who has also worked with five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand, said the broader focus is not just on improving in one format, but on enhancing Gukesh's overall chess skills — a process that will make him a more well-rounded and formidable player. 'For me, the most important thing is for Gukesh to develop as a player not in terms of Classical or Rapid or Blitz… there are many areas to improve and once he improves in those areas he will become stronger in all formats. You just focus on the improvements.'
Business Wire
08-07-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen Adds to Grand Chess Tour Legacy with Victory in Zagreb at 2025 SuperUnited Rapid & Blitz Croatia
ZAGREB, Croatia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--With characteristic brilliance and unshakable composure, five-time World Champion and World No. 1 Grandmaster (GM) Magnus Carlsen secured yet another milestone in his legendary career, winning the 2025 SuperUnited Rapid & Blitz Croatia — a Grand Chess Tour (GCT) event — with a round to spare. Five-time World Champion and World No. 1 Grandmaster (GM) Magnus Carlsen secured yet another milestone in his legendary career, winning the 2025 SuperUnited Rapid & Blitz Croatia — a Grand Chess Tour event — with a round to spare. Share 'What I really like about this event is the format – you have a lot of games and you have a lot of time to come back,' said Carlsen. Carlsen's commanding performance earned him 22.5 points across rapid and blitz formats, marking his sixth consecutive Rapid & Blitz triumph on the GCT and an astonishing tenth win in just 12 appearances. Carlsen earned $40,000 for his performance. 'SuperUnited Rapid & Blitz Croatia was a thrilling event and a fitting celebration of world-class chess in Zagreb,' said Michael Khodarkovsky, GCT Executive Director. 'Congratulations to Magnus Carlsen on an extraordinary performance and yet another Rapid & Blitz title. This year's tournament holds special significance as we mark the 10th anniversary of the Grand Chess Tour, and we're deeply grateful to Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and SuperUnited for their continued partnership in making this event such a success.' GM Wesley So from the United States finished in second place, taking home a prize of $30,000, followed by current World Champion GM Gukesh Dommaraju, who took third place and $25,000. 'Congratulations to Magnus Carlsen on his victory at the SuperUnited Rapid & Blitz in Zagreb,' said Augusta Dragic, President of the Superbet Foundation. 'A sincere thank you to all the remarkable players who made these five days truly unforgettable — showcasing world-class talent and genuine sportsmanship. As we celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the Grand Chess Tour, we hope this event continues to inspire people of all ages to play chess. The Superbet Foundation is proud to be part of this journey, supporting the growth of the game and the values it represents.' Final results for the 2025 SuperUnited Rapid & Blitz Croatia are as follows: POSITION PLAYER COUNTRY PRIZE MONEY 1 GM Magnus Carlsen NOR $40,000 2 GM Wesley So USA $30,000 3 GM Gukesh Dommaraju IND $25,000 4 GM Alireza Firouzja FRA $17,500 4 GM Jan-Krzysztof Duda POL $17,500 6 GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov UZB $11,000 7 GM Fabiano Caruana USA $9,500 7 GM Anish Giri IND $9,500 9 GM Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu IND $8,000 10 GM Ivan Saric CRO $7,000 Expand Wildcard Players Named for US Legs of the Grand Chess Tour This year's historic GCT will wrap up with its final two regular tournaments, both hosted by the Saint Louis Chess Club in Saint Louis, Mo. — the Chess Capital of America. Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz: August 9-17, 2025 in Saint Louis, MO The Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz will kickoff the events starting on August 9. In the third and final speed chess event, six tour players and four wildcards will fight for a prize fund of $175,000 as the GCT regulars aim to finish at the top of the GCT standings. The format will see nine rounds of Rapid followed by eighteen rounds of Blitz, for a total of 135 games spread across five days. The four wildcard players include: GM Leinier Dominguez from the United States GM Liem Le from Vietnam GM Sam Shankland from the United States GM Grigoriy Oparin from the United States The complete field for the Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz includes: Player Name Highlights Country Role FIDE Standard Rating (July '25) GM Fabiano Caruana Ranked No. 3 in the world, 2023 GCT Champion, Reigning Four-time US Champion USA Full Tour 2784 GM Gukesh Dommaraju Reigning World Champion IND Full Tour 2776 GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov 2021 World Rapid Champion UZB Full Tour 2771 GM Wesley So 2022 GCT Runner-up Winner, 2021 GCT Winner USA Full Tour 2745 GM Levon Aronian 2024 American Cup Winner; Two-time World Cup Champion USA Full Tour 2742 GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave 2023 GCT Runner-up Winner, 2024 GCT 3rd place FRA Full Tour 2736 GM Leinier Dominguez 2008 FIDE World Blitz Champion; 2019 U.S. Championship Runner-up USA Wildcard 2738 GM Liem Le 2013 FIDE World Blitz Champion VIE Wildcard 2729 GM Sam Shankland 2025 American Continental Chess Champion; 2018 US Chess Champion USA Wildcard 2670 GM Grigoriy Oparin FIDE Grand Prix Qualifier, FIDE Grand Swiss 2021 3rd place USA Wildcard 2660 Expand Sinquefield Cup: August 16-29, 2025 in Saint Louis, MO The last regular season stop and signature event of the GCT circuit, the Sinquefield Cup continues its traditional classical format. Hosted annually by the Saint Louis Chess Club with a $350,000 total prize fund, the strongest tournament on American soil will be the final opportunity for competitors to earn points in the 2025 GCT, aiming to finish in the top four to qualify for the GCT Finals in Brazil. The tournament will feature one wildcard – GM Samuel Sevian from the United States. The complete field for the Sinquefield Cup includes: Player Name Highlights Country Role FIDE Standard Rating (July '25) GM Fabiano Caruana Ranked No. 3 in the world, 2023 GCT Champion, Reigning Four-time US Champion USA Full Tour 2784 GM Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu 2025 Tata Steel Champion IND Full Tour 2779 GM Gukesh Dommaraju Reigning World Champion IND Full Tour 2776 GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov 2021 World Rapid Champion UZB Full Tour 2771 GM Alireza Firouzja 2022 and 2024 GCT Champion FRA Full Tour 2766 GM Wesley So 2022 GCT Runner-up , 2021 GCT Winner USA Full Tour 2745 GM Levon Aronian 2024 American Cup Winner; Two-time World Cup Champion USA Full Tour 2742 GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave 2023 GCT Runner-up Winner, 2024 GCT 3rd place FRA Full Tour 2736 GM Jan-Krzysztof Duda 2021 Fide World Cup Winner POL Full Tour 2725 GM Samuel Sevian 2021 FIDE Grand Swiss 3rd place USA Wildcard 2683 Expand Follow all the chess action in Saint Louis by watching the professional commentary team led by GM Yasser Seirawan on the Saint Louis Chess Club's Youtube and Twitch channels. GCT Celebrates 10th Anniversary with the Return of the GCT Finals The tenth annual GCT features the world's best players competing across four countries for a total prize fund of $1.6 million during the 2025 season. The circuit includes the Superbet Rapid & Blitz Poland in Warsaw, the Superbet Chess Classic in Bucharest, the SuperUnited Rapid & Blitz Croatia in Zagreb, the Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz, and the Sinquefield Cup in Saint Louis. The tour will come to a dramatic conclusion during the GCT Finals, set for September 26-October 4, 2025 during its first-ever stop in South America in the vibrant Brazilian City of São Paulo. The top four finishers of the regular season of five tournaments will compete for the purse of additional $350,000 in the knockout matches. For more information, visit Grand Chess Tour Grand Chess Tour is a circuit of international events, each demonstrating the highest level of organization for the world's best players. The legendary Garry Kasparov, one of the world's greatest ambassadors for chess, inspired the Grand Chess Tour and helped solidify the partnership between the organizers. All Grand Chess Tour 2024 events will comply with local and regional COVID-19 restrictions. For more information about the tour, please visit Superbet Foundation The Superbet Foundation, a non-profit organization, is responsible for coordinating the Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives of the Superbet Group. Their goal is to support the advancement of health, education, and sports initiatives, with a special emphasis on promoting the game of chess and its myriad benefits within all the communities they serve. Saint Louis Chess Club The Saint Louis Chess Club is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization that is committed to making chess an important part of our community. In addition to providing a forum for the community to play tournaments and casual games, the club also offers chess improvement classes, beginner lessons and special lectures. Recognizing the cognitive and behavioral benefits of chess, the Saint Louis Chess Club is committed to supporting those chess programs that already exist in area schools while encouraging the development of new in-school and after-school programs. For more information, visit
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First Post
07-07-2025
- Sport
- First Post
Kasparov feels Gukesh not yet ready to conquer Blitz after sudden loss of form in Croatia: 'Something is wrong...'
D Gukesh endured a miserable run in the Blitz leg of SuperUnited Croatia after shining in the Rapid games to surrender the title to Magnus Carlsen and finish third on the overall standnings. read more Garry Kasparov had earlier heaped praise on D Gukesh for his victory over Magnus Carlsen in the Rapid leg of SuperUnited Croatia. Image credit: Grand Chess Tour/Reuters Legendary Russian Grandmaster Garry Kasparov felt reigning Classical world champion D Gukesh isn't ready for conquering Blitz chess just yet, especially after his poor performance in the format at the SuperUnited Rapid & Blitz Croatia event that concluded on Sunday. Gukesh enjoyed a superb run in the Rapid section of the event, where defeated world No 1 Magnus Carlsen for the second consecutive time after beating him at last month's Norway Chess and finished top of the standings with 14 points. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The third event of the 2025 Grand Chess Tour, however, was one where the winner would be decided by the total points accumulated across the Rapid and Blitz legs of the it was in the latter where Gukesh undid all of his hard work in the Rapid games, enduring a horrid run that saw the 19-year-old end Day 1 of the Blitz leg with seven defeats in nine rounds, including the first five on the bounce. Though Gukesh put up an improved display on the final day of the tournament, it wasn't enough as he finished third on the overall standings in 19.5 points, behind Carlsen (22.5) and Wesley So (20). 'We didn't see the tenacity' Former world champion and world No 1 Kasparov felt the solid victory over Carlsen had a psychological impact on the 19-year-old Indian Grandmaster which, together with his struggles in the Blitz format, led to his torrid run in the last two days of the event in Zagreb. 'I thought Gukesh's games were feeble yesterday and today. Because it's very fast, and he's probably not ready to show his skills in Blitz,' Kasparov had said after the conclusion of the penultimate day of the tournament. 'In Blitz, every gram of your energy that is being wasted on something else just has a very negative effect.' 'The games he lost today, some of them were just terrible. Losing to Magnus I understand, anybody can lose the game. But even in this game, we didn't see the tenacity. 'Something is wrong with Gukesh. Yesterday was not a great day. His games were very feeble. Yes, he beat (Wesley) So, but his game against (Anish) Giri was a sign of trouble for me,' the 62-year-old added. Thanks to Gukesh's sudden drop in form, Carlsen surged ahead in the Blitz games and finished top of the standings despite claiming he produced his "B-game" in Zagreb. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
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First Post
07-07-2025
- Sport
- First Post
Carlsen downplays victory at SuperUnited Rapid & Blitz Croatia: 'I had one good day... that turned out to be enough'
Magnus Carlsen overcame a slow start at the SuperUnited Rapid & Blitz Croatia, the third event of the 2025 Grand Chess Tour, to win the tournament with a total of 22.5 points – three more than early leader D Gukesh. read more After finishing with just 10 points at the end of the Rapid games, Magnus Carlsen bounced back in the Blitz leg to win the SuperUnited Croatia title. Image credit: Grand Chess Tour Magnus Carlsen was back at his cheeky self after clinching the SuperUnited Rapid and Blitz Croatia title on Sunday, surging past Wesley So and D Gukesh to the top spot despite a slow start to his campaign. Reacting to his victory with a total of 22.5 points that made him richer by US$40,000, Carlsen said that his "B-game" proved enough for him to secure the title who nobody else in the 10-man competition had a great run either. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Carlsen admits to struggling at Zagreb despite clinching title And in a chat with the tournament organisers after his triumph in Zagreb, which hosted the third event of the 2025 Grand Chess Tour, the legendary Norwegian Grandmaster said that it was 'one good day' that helped him land the title. Carlsen, however, added that he was a 'little bit lucky' along the way. '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,' Carlsen said in a chat with Grand Chess Tour after his victory. 'I had one good day, really, which was yesterday, and that turned out to be enough, which was a little bit lucky, but it speaks to the fact that it was a fairly even tournament overall and nobody could really break away from the pack. 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,' he added. Not bad for "old man chess!" 😂 — Garry Kasparov (@Kasparov63) July 6, 2025 STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Carlsen was third in the standings with 10 points after a mixed run in the Rapid leg of the tournament, during which he suffered a second defeat in as many meetings against Indian GM Gukesh, who was at the top with 14 points. Carlsen, however, surged past Gukesh to the top spot after collecting six wins and three draws on the first day of the Blitz games, with the Indian suffering seven defeats in nine games including the first five on the trot. Despite a relatively better performance from the Classical world champion on the final day of the event, Gukesh failed to catch up with Carlsen as he finished third overall with 19.5 points – three fewer than the champion.
