Gukesh outwits Carlsen; leads Super United rapid and blitz
Counting the opening day victories, the win against Carlsen late on Thursday was Gukesh's fifth consecutive triumph in the tournament and took him to 10 points out of a possible 12.
PTI
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Grand Chess Tour (Photo: X/@ChessbaseIndia)
Zagreb, 4 July
World champion D
Gukesh let his moves do the talking as he scored another impressive win over
world number one Magnus Carlsen to grab the sole lead after six rounds of the
Super United Rapid and blitz chess tournament here.
Counting the opening
day victories, the win against Carlsen late on Thursday was Gukesh's fifth consecutive triumph in the tournament and took him to 10 points out of a
possible 12.
With just three
rounds to come in rapid section, Gukesh enjoys two points lead over nearest
rival Duda Jan-Krzysztof of Poland. Wesley So of United States is in sole third
spot on seven points, a full point clear of Carlsen, Anish Giri of Holland and
local hero Ivan Saric.
R Praggnanandhaa
shares the seventh spot on five points with American Fabiano Caruana, while
Alireza Firouzja of France is in ninth spot on four points. Nodirbek
Abdusattorov of Uzbekistan is 10th on just three points.
Carlsen has never
minced his words and has been a critic of Gukesh in the faster version of the
game.
The World number one
had infamously banged the table after his previous loss to Gukesh in the Norway chess tournament. That was the Indian's first victory over the world number one
in Classical chess.
The victory as black
was sweet for Gukesh.
Carlsen enjoyed some
optical advantage after his king pawn opening but the day belonged to Gukesh
who found the perfect counter play.
At some point Carlsen
had to part with two minor pieces for a rook and a couple of extra pawns that
looked menacing.
However, Gukesh
calmly exploited Carlsen's bad plan with the clock ticking away and the famous
victory was scored after 49 moves.
Earlier in the day,
Gukesh had beaten Abdusattorov and Caruana with some fine efforts.
Praggnanandhaa's
search for an elusive victory continued as he played out three draws with Caruana,
Carlsen and Giri. Praggnanandhaa will need some victories on the final day to
make a comeback in the tournament.
Standings after round
6:
1. D Gukesh (Ind,
10); 2. Duda Jan-Krzysztof (Pol, 8); 3. Wesley So (Usa, 7); 4-6: Ivan Saric
(Cro); Magnus Carlsen (Nor); Anish Giri (Ned) 6 each; 7-8; Fabiano Caruana
(Usa); R Praggnanandhaa (Ind) 2 each. 9. Alireza Firouzja (Fra, 4); 10.
Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzb, 3).
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