Magnus Carlsen, (the world’s number one chess player) has won the SuperUnited Rapid and Blitz 2025 tournament which was held in Zagreb, Croatia. Carlsen was crowned champion on July 7, 2025, with one round to spare. The tournament is part of the Grand Chess Tour and featured top chess players from around the world. Carlsen’s title demonstrates his quality of play and D Gukesh of India demonstrated his brilliance and skill in finishing third.
Carlsen was an unstoppable force
The SuperUnited Rapid and Blitz was a demanding event with chess players playing both of the classical time controls of Rapid and Blitz. Magnus Carlsen played strong chess throughout the event and won the tournament when he drew with India’s R Praggnanandhaa in the second last round. He then won in the last round vs Croatia Ivan Saric to win the tournament with total score of 22.5 out of 36. Wesley So from the USA, one of the best players ever in the USA finished 2nd with 20 points. So played exceptionally well on the last day and scored more than Carlsen in the final 9 games of Blitz, but it was not enough to catch him.
Gukesh Performance
India’s D Gukesh, the World Champion, surprised everyone, since this is not one of his stronger formats, in the Rapid format. He struggled a little with Blitz but bounced back in the second half to end up with 4 wins out of 9 games and earned a total of 19.5 points.
When Gukesh played his second round Blitz match against Carlsen, he used the Berlin defense, and ended up drawing. This should show you how quickly he is improving in faster formats of chess, especially since he is only 19 years old.
The next Grand Chess Tour event will be in Saint Louis at the Saint Louis Chess Club, Missouri, USA, from August 10-16, 2025. This is the fourth event of the season and again, an opportunity for the world’s best players to accumulate points and prepare for the larger competitions. We are expecting more fantastic games from these players!
