New Delhi: World Champion D. Gukesh clinched the rapid title at the SuperUnited Rapid & Blitz tournament as part of the 2025 Grand Chess Tour in Zagreb, Croatia, on Friday. The Indian Grandmaster showed great composure, tactical precision and fine form to finish the Rapid tournament with 14 points from a possible 18.
His campaign started with a first-round loss against Jan-Krzysztof Duda. But he made a stellar comeback and responded with five consecutive victories, including a dominating performance against World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen in Round 4, a result that strongly placed him in control of the leaderboard.
He ended the rapid section with a sensational win against Wesley. It was a brilliant end to a campaign that included six wins, two draws, and one loss. Day 3 of the tournament started with a draw against Dutch Grandmaster Anish Giri. His second game against Croatia’s Ivan Aric also ended in a draw, but Gukesh fought hard in an 87-move encounter.
Final Standings – Rapid Section
D. Gukesh – 14.0 / 18 (6 wins, 2 draws, 1 loss)
Magnus Carlsen – 10.0, finishing third after slipping in later rounds
Blitz section
The blitz section of the tournament in Zagreb is slated to begin on July 5 and 6. These rounds will determine the final standings of the tournament, and the overall champion of the Zagreb leg will be crowned based on combined results from both formats.
Zagreb is the third stop in this year’s Grand Chess Tour, with earlier legs taking place in Poland and Romania. India’s R Praggnanandhaa won the title in Bucharest and finished third in Warsaw.
After Zagreb, the tour will move to the United States in August for the next two events and will end in Brazil between September and October. The final leg of the tournament will feature a complete set of classical, rapid, and blitz games.
