Gukesh Shines, Ties With Carlsen At Top After Day 1 Of Super United Rapid & Blitz

Gukesh Ties with Carlsen

India’s teenage chess sensation D Gukesh bounced back strongly after an early loss to finish Day 1 of the Super United Rapid and Blitz tournament tied for the top spot alongside World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen, Jan-Krzysztof Duda of Poland, and Wesley So of the USA. All four players ended the day with 4 points from 3 rounds in this Grand Chess Tour event.

The day didn’t begin well for Gukesh as he lost to Duda in the opening round. But the newly crowned world champion quickly found his rhythm. He defeated a hasty Alireza Firouzja from France in the second round and followed it up with a win over fellow Indian R Praggnanandhaa to complete a strong recovery.

Meanwhile, Carlsen also collected 4 points. He earned a hard-fought victory over Wesley So in a 75-move endgame and drew his other two games against Ivan Saric of Croatia and Duda.

Wesley So had an eventful day as well. Apart from losing to Carlsen, he picked up two wins — beating Fabiano Caruana and Anish Giri.

Praggnanandhaa, who has been in excellent form recently, had a mixed day. He managed draws against Firouzja and Nodirbek Abdusattorov but his loss to Gukesh pushed him down the leaderboard.

After three rounds, four players — Carlsen, Duda, Gukesh, and Wesley So — are at the top with 4 points each. Close behind are Ivan Saric and Anish Giri with 3 points. Caruana, Abdusattorov, Firouzja, and Praggnanandhaa follow with 2 points each.

In this tournament, a win in the rapid section gives 2 points, while in the blitz section, each win earns 1 point. There are six more rapid rounds to go, followed by 18 blitz games, meaning there’s still everything to play for.

Gukesh remained positive despite his early setback. “Duda played really well and got a strong position,” he said. He then capitalized on Firouzja’s impatience and took advantage of a mistake by Praggnanandhaa.

Carlsen’s draw with Saric was hard-fought, while his win over Wesley was classic Carlsen — slow, steady, and clinical.

Standings after 3 Rapid Rounds:

1–4: Magnus Carlsen (Norway), D Gukesh (India), Jan-Krzysztof Duda (Poland), Wesley So (USA) – 4 points
5–6: Ivan Saric (Croatia), Anish Giri (Netherlands) – 3 points
7–10: Fabiano Caruana (USA), Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzbekistan), Alireza Firouzja (France), R Praggnanandhaa (India) – 2 points

Highlights

Gukesh bounces back after first-round loss to tie for top spot with 4 points.
Magnus Carlsen grinds down Wesley So in a 75-move endgame to join the leaders.
Praggnanandhaa struggles, finishes with two draws and a loss.
Standings after 3 rounds: Gukesh, Carlsen, Duda, and Wesley So lead with 4 points each.
Rapid wins worth 2 points, blitz wins 1 point — plenty of rounds still to come.

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