Magnus Carlsen Wins SuperUnited Rapid & Blitz Croatia 2025 and D Gukesh Secures Third Place.
Sports
On July 6, 2025, World No. 1 chess player Magnus Carlsen of Norway won the SuperUnited Rapid & Blitz Croatia 2025 chess tournament, part of the Grand Chess Tour (GCT) 2025, held in Zagreb, Croatia. Carlsen scored a total of 22.5 out of 36 points, securing his 10th GCT title and his sixth consecutive tournament win of the year.
- The SuperUnited Rapid & Blitz Croatia 2025 was the third official event of the Grand Chess Tour 2025 and was held from June 30 to July 6, 2025. It followed the same format as previous GCT tournaments, combining Rapid and Blitz formats, and featured top global players, including three wildcards: Magnus Carlsen, Anish Giri, and Croatian GM Ivan Šarić.
- The tournament had a total of 36 points up for grabs—18 from Rapid and 18 from Blitz—with players earning double points in Rapid games. The event offered a total prize pool of USD 175,000, with the top three winners being Magnus Carlsen (USD 40,000), Wesley So (USD 30,000), and D Gukesh (USD 25,000).
- Carlsen initially stood in third position after the Rapid section, scoring 10 out of 18 points. However, he made a strong comeback in the Blitz rounds, adding 12.5 points, and finished first with a combined total of 22.5 points. His performance in Blitz sealed his victory before the final round concluded.
Main Point :- (i) Wesley So, representing the United States of America (USA), placed second with 20 points. Despite a modest performance in Rapid (8/18), he delivered an impressive Blitz run with 12 points, overtaking several higher-ranked players and maintaining consistent form across GCT 2025.
(ii) Indian chess prodigy D Gukesh finished third with 19.5 points. He had a stellar run in the Rapid section as the sole leader but could not maintain his form in the Blitz rounds. R Praggnanandhaa, also from India, finished 5th with 16.5 points, delivering a strong performance despite fierce international competition.
(iii) The next event in the Grand Chess Tour 2025 will be the Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz, scheduled to be held from August 10 to 16, 2025, at the Saint Louis Chess Club in Saint Louis, Missouri, USA. This event will mark the fourth leg of the five-event GCT 2025 circuit.
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