Magnus Carlsen has surged into the sole lead at the SuperUnited Rapid and Blitz chess tournament in Zagreb, while reigning world champion Gukesh experienced a significant slump on Saturday.
Carlsen’s Stellar Comeback
After nine rounds of blitz on Saturday, Magnus Carlsen has staged an impressive comeback, now holding the top spot. He leads with 17.5 points, two points ahead of Gukesh, and one point clear of Jan-Krzysztof Duda, who is in second place with 16 points.
Carlsen’s strong performance saw him erase Gukesh’s three-point lead from the rapid section, setting the stage for an exciting final day.
Gukesh’s Challenging Saturday
World Champion Gukesh faced a tough day, losing seven of his nine blitz games. He managed only 1.5 points out of a possible nine on Saturday, a sharp contrast to his dominant rapid play earlier in the tournament.
His losses included matches against top players like Wesley So, Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Jan-Krzysztof Duda, and Magnus Carlsen himself. Gukesh salvaged a draw against Anish Giri and secured a win against Fabiano Caruana, but ended the day with another defeat to Praggnanandhaa.
Carlsen on His “Old Man Chess”
Despite his victory over Gukesh, Carlsen humbly described his own play as somewhat uninspired. “The game itself was kind of rubbish,” Carlsen admitted in a post-match interview.
He added, “I was really just playing old man’s chess trying to play without tactics whatsoever. But it worked out well, so cannot complain.”
Kasparov Weighs In on Gukesh’s Performance
Legendary chess player Garry Kasparov shared his concern for Gukesh, suggesting that his earlier win against Carlsen in the rapid section might have had a profound psychological impact. “I feel pity (at Gukesh’s results), because Gukesh played such a great rapid portion,” Kasparov noted.
Kasparov critically assessed Gukesh’s blitz games. “I thought Gukesh’s games were feeble yesterday and today. Because it’s very fast and he’s not probably ready to show his skills in blitz,” he explained. “The games he lost today, some of them were just terrible.”
He suggested that Gukesh needs to “recover his composure” and “forget about the tournament” to play freely, acknowledging the immense pressure on the young champion.
- Magnus Carlsen is now the sole leader in the SuperUnited Rapid and Blitz tournament.
- Gukesh lost 7 out of 9 blitz games on Saturday, dropping to third place.
- Carlsen described his winning game against Gukesh as “old man’s chess.”
- Garry Kasparov believes Gukesh’s earlier win over Carlsen may have created psychological pressure.
All players are set to return for nine more rounds of blitz on Sunday, promising a thrilling conclusion to the tournament.
