World Champion Gukesh Dommaraju elevated his lead over GM Jan-Krzysztof Duda to a few factors and stored a four-point hole to GMÂ Magnus Carlsen as he made two attracts and scored a dominant win over GM Wesley So to attain 14/18 within the speedy part of the 2025 SuperUnited Croatia Rapid & Blitz. GMs Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu and Fabiano Caruana are a full 5 factors again. Â
Day 4 begins Saturday, July 5, at 9 a.m. ET / 15:00 CEST / 6:30 p.m. IST.
SuperUnited Speedy & Blitz Croatia Standings After Day 3
Gukesh has dominated the speedy, however there are nonetheless 18 rounds of blitz to go earlier than prizes are handed out.
The Streak Ends, However Gukesh Grows His Lead
Halfway by means of Gukesh’s round-seven sport towards GM Anish Giri, it appeared he was taking up and would possibly rating a sixth win in a row, however then the benefit slipped away. Gukesh might have taken a draw however as an alternative took dangers, confessing to GM Cristian Chirila, “I used to be additionally type of pissed that I didn’t benefit from the sooner place I had!”
Precisely assessing the place you may threat with out critical hazard is a champion’s trait, nevertheless, and Gukesh proved appropriate when Giri took a draw by repetition in a superior place.
Giri ends Gukesh’s successful streak—and in reality had successful possibilities earlier than taking a draw by repetition! https://t.co/opJa0QFLnL pic.twitter.com/0kqgfOnSNp
— chess24 (@chess24com) July 4, 2025
The identical story performed out within the subsequent spherical, as Gukesh gained the opening battle towards native hero GM Ivan Saric, constructed up a successful benefit, however then could not make progress towards resolute protection by Saric.
The Croatian star admitted, “I used to be very fortunate to not be misplaced” when he discovered the one protection of retreating his knight to a1. On the finish it was comprehensible that he did not need to play on along with his king uncovered. Nonetheless, he did have two further pawns!
The Gukesh impact? Saric takes a draw by repetition in a successful place and Gukesh will finish the speedy part no less than within the shared lead! https://t.co/1l87ni5Ez0 pic.twitter.com/upQR5Kv6lc
— chess24 (@chess24com) July 4, 2025
After these shaky attracts, the third sport of the day, towards GM Wesley So, was very completely different. So had began the day in third place, however misplaced to GM Alireza Firouzja, missed a superb successful likelihood towards Praggnanandhaa, after which solely suffered within the ultimate spherical.
“General it’s very nice to get a dominating sport like this!” is how Gukesh summed up a sport the place he acquired an enormous benefit out of the opening earlier than 16…Qc6? invited catastrophe, that duly got here.Â
Gukesh’s win within the ultimate spherical meant that he ended the speedy part in Zagreb with 14 out of a potential 18 factors.
Caruana, who mentioned his loss to Gukesh was his worst sport of the event, praised the younger Indian star, commenting: “He’s been very spectacular, additionally as a result of his wins haven’t been the results of opening prep, however simply good sensible play, and placing stress, and good calculation, and so he does deserve the rating totally.”
Then again, Caruana felt GM Garry Kasparov‘s suggestion that we’re witnessing a brand new period of dominance is likely to be going too far.Â
Caruana on Kasparov speaking about Gukesh now dominating: “Garry wished perhaps a soundbite or he has a aptitude for the dramatic, however I would not learn a lot into a couple of days of speedy — I feel I had a greater rating final 12 months and I do not keep in mind these feedback!” #GrandChessTour pic.twitter.com/vo9HROTkIj
— chess24 (@chess24com) July 4, 2025
Caruana was proper on the rating, since he’d scored 15/18 within the speedy in Zagreb a 12 months earlier, even in case you might level out that Carlsen wasn’t within the discipline. The parallel is fascinating, nevertheless, because the subsequent participant was three factors again, one other participant was 4 factors again, after which the “chasing pack” was 5 factors off the tempo—precisely the situation this 12 months. Again then Caruana went on to win by four points after the blitz.Â
Gukesh, in the meantime, was protecting his toes firmly on the bottom. Confronted with Kasparov’s feedback, he defined:
I favor to not assume in these phrases. I nonetheless see myself as a participant who’s working exhausting to enhance daily, simply taking one sport at a time, one event at a time. I’m actually glad Garry mentioned that, however I feel there’s nonetheless a protracted technique to go!
I nonetheless see myself as a participant who’s working exhausting to enhance daily.
—Gukesh Dommaraju
Gukesh additionally made up for one thing he’d forgotten to do the day earlier than—give his cousin a shoutout for predicting a win over Carlsen!
Gukesh provides a shoutout to his cousin, who’d predicted he’d beat Magnus and requested for a shoutout if he did! #GrandChessTour pic.twitter.com/0mbKaf5fxJ
— chess24 (@chess24com) July 4, 2025
Duda, Carlsen Lead The Chasing Pack
Duda is the one participant to have overwhelmed Gukesh in Zagreb and likewise the one participant to stay unbeaten. He began the ultimate day of speedy simply two factors behind Gukesh, however noticed that hole develop to a few after he drew all three video games. He missed some possibilities towards Firouzja, however in any other case might don’t have any complaints. “I used to be being examined right this moment, for positive—I had two video games over 100 strikes, however I managed ultimately,” he instructed GM Simon Williams.
The primary of these was an epic 156 strikes towards GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov, who was successful for giant sections of the sport however briefly risked shedding close to the top.
A 156-move draw vs. Abdusattorov and Duda stays 2nd, two factors behind Gukesh, and the one unbeaten participant in Zagreb! https://t.co/zbnaiXBJMJ pic.twitter.com/VH1j1CbLKC
— chess24 (@chess24com) July 4, 2025
Then the ultimate sport of the day was a mere 108 strikes towards Praggnanandhaa. “Now it’s going to be a special event,” mentioned Duda, a two-time World Blitz Chess Championship runner-up.
Eight-time World Blitz Champion Carlsen, who on day one of many Zagreb blitz in 2023 scored 9/9, is 4 factors again however appears to be like to be regaining his rhythm. He began the day with a wonderful, complicated win over his nice rival Caruana. It was removed from flawless, with Carlsen explaining, “I’ve little doubt that I used to be worse, in all probability significantly so, but it surely suited my temper okay, since I actually wished to battle.”
That is our Sport of the Day, which is analyzed by GM Rafael Leitao under.
Carlsen was then left considerably pissed off when he could not discover a technique to maintain urgent in a pointy tussle with Abdusattorov earlier than he had White towards Giri within the ultimate spherical of the day.
This was the prospect to maintain the hole to Gukesh to a really bridgeable three factors, and Carlsen used all his tips to attempt to squeeze out a win, with Giri reflecting, “He is aware of find out how to put you able the place he’s snug—it acquired very disagreeable from the beginning.” The sluggish grind ultimately led to what Giri known as “one of many hardest theoretical endgames that exists,” the place one participant has an additional f- and h-pawn, however the sport must be drawn.
“That is like one of many hardest theoretical endgames that exists, rook f and h pawn. I as soon as had a coaching session the place I spent a few days on this place. We concluded that it is actually, actually exhausting.”@anishgiri saves a troublesome place vs. Magnus in spherical 9. pic.twitter.com/NyLRAsr5mc
— Take Take Take (@TakeTakeTakeApp) July 4, 2025
The 133-move sport had the drawn final result that idea predicts, however at two factors close to the top Carlsen was objectively successful, one thing we all know for a certainty since chess positions with seven items or fewer have been “solved” and recorded in “tablebases.”
That leaves Carlsen needing to carry out close to his finest, or for Gukesh to stumble, to make up the hole, whereas different gamers are even additional off the tempo. Praggnanandhaa and Caruana are 5 factors again, however Caruana particularly has proven glimpses of high kind. After the loss to Carlsen, he hit again to take down Giri after which win a spectacular sport towards Saric.Â
“It’s principally a cautionary story for what occurs in case you sideline your queen within the middlegame,” mentioned Caruana, after he lured his opponent right into a devilish entice. The sequence 18…e4? 19.fxe4 Nxe4 20.Nxe4!! invited Black to win an change, but it surely was a pyrrhic victory.
Will Gukesh be capable of preserve his cleared the path Caruana did in 2024, or will he be hunted down within the blitz? It should be thrilling with 9 rounds on each Saturday and Sunday.
Methods to watch?
The 2025 SuperUnited Croatia Speedy & Blitz is the third occasion on the 2025 Grand Chess Tour and runs July 2-6 within the Westin Resort in Zagreb, Croatia. The ten gamers first compete in a single speedy round-robin with a time management of 25 minutes plus a 10-second increment per transfer, adopted by a blitz double round-robin with a 5+2 time management.
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