Credit: X
The reigning world champion D Gukesh faced a defeat against world number one Magnus Carlsen in the Blitz section of SuperUnited Rapid and Blitz 2025. Before the game, Carlsen was in pressure as he was in the media attention for losing against the 19-year-old in the rapid round. Carlsen, who was in survival mode, held his nerves and looked outstanding against Gukesh. Spectators were expecting a tough contest between both but the match lasted for only one minute.
Following the match, Carlsen looked unhappy with the result. When both players agreed to a draw, Gukesh got 5:10 minutes on his clock, more time than he had started the match with. On the other hand, Carlsen had 4:45 minutes. The stalemate against Gukesh was Carlsen's third of the day out of four games as earlier, he drew with Anish Giri and Fabiano Caruana as well. His only victory came in the day against Alireza Firouzja.
Magnus Carlsen wins SuperUnited Chess Rapid and Blitz 2025
In the fast-paced chess event, Magnus Carlsen played magnificently and confirmed his title victory with a stalemate against Gukesh’s compatriot R Praggnanandhaa in the second-last round. He then went on to beat Croatia’s Ivan Saric in the final round to conclude the tournament as champion with a total score of 22.5 out of 36. After winning the title Carlsen exuded confidence with his X post. Taking to his social media handle, he wrote, “When nobody else has a great performance, my B-game is usually enough. Always striving for more though!”
Wesley So ended the competition in second place with 20 points gained through eight rapid points and 12 blitz points. Gukesh, who started the tournament remarkably, had to satiate himself with the third position. He amassed 19.5 points with 14 hoarded through the rapid round. In the blitz round, he accumulated only 5.5 points.
