SuperUnited Blitz 2025: Carlsen beats Gukesh, overtakes him and gains sole lead
The reigning World Blitz Cochampion, Magnus Carlsen scored an unbeaten 7.5/9 in Blitz to emerge sole leader at Grand Chess Tour SuperUnited Blitz 2025. Despite starting the day with a draw against Anish Giri (NED), the World no.1 had two more draws against Wesley So (USA) and Jan-Krzysztof Duda (POL). He was disappointed for not being able to convert his advantage into a win against Duda to increase his lead. The FIDE World Cup 2021 winner, Duda is at 16/27, followed by the reigning World Champion, D Gukesh at 15.5/27. Gukesh had a forgettable day as he scored only 1.5/9. R Praggnanandhaa scored 50%, 4.5/9 to take his total score 13.5/27. Nine more rounds of Blitz will be played today. Round 1 starts at 2 p.m. local time, 5:30 p.m. IST. Photo: Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour
A forgettable day for Gukesh who is still very much in the fray
Blitz games are mostly for fun and entertainment purposes. One should delve too deep in a Blitz game. Many top players have said that Blitz games are not worth analyzing. Majority of the games were decided on blunders in the final moments of the game where the result changed drastically in those moments. The World no.1 got his rhythm back. The World Champion had one bad day. He needs to have a bad memory, forget the day quickly and start final day afresh. Practically winning the tournament might seem difficult currently, but it's not impossible. A podium finish would be a great result too.
Round 2: Praggnanandhaa - So: 1-0
R Praggnanandhaa (2734) has played nine Blitz rated games against Wesley So (USA, 2786). Score was 3.5-5.5 before this game. Praggnanandhaa scored his first win of the day against So after a draw in the first round against Ivan Saric (CRO, 2593).
Round 4: Carlsen - Gukesh: 1-0
The World Blitz Cochampion, Magnus Carlsen (NOR, 2883) played five Blitz rated games against the reigning World Champion, D Gukesh (2615). Carlsen won the sixth one too. In a double rook and minor piece endgame, Gukesh made an incorrect rook exchange. Later, he sacrificed a pawn to free up his bishop but that did not help his case.
Round 6: Giri - Gukesh: 0.5-0.5
Anish Giri (NED, 2690) once again halted D Gukesh's double hat-trick streak. In Rapid, he halted the winning streak, while in Blitz, it was the losing streak.
Round 8: Caruana - Gukesh: 0-1
After suffering six losses and a draw, D Gukesh scored his first win of the day against Fabiano Caruana (USA, 2782).
Praggnanandhaa - Carlsen: 0-1
R Praggnanandhaa got himself winning chances in the endgame against Magnus Carlsen. However, a blunder in the final moments in a complex position, turned the tables and Carlsen won.
Round 9: Gukesh - Praggnanandhaa: 0-1
D Gukesh and R Praggnanandhaa have played nine Rated Blitz games against each other. Eight of them had 1-0 as result. Score was 3-6 in Praggnanandhaa's favor. He widened the gap by winning their tenth battle.
Replay live stream
Replay Blitz Round 1-9 games
Blitz Round 9 results
| Bo. | No. | Rtg | White | Result | Black | Rtg | No. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | 2615 | GM | Gukesh, D | 0 - 1 | GM | Praggnanandhaa, R | 2734 | 10 | |||
| 2 | 6 | 2786 | GM | So, Wesley | 1 - 0 | GM | Caruana, Fabiano | 2782 | 4 | |||
| 3 | 7 | 2723 | GM | Abdusattorov, Nodirbek | 1 - 0 | GM | Firouzja, Alireza | 2814 | 3 | |||
| 4 | 8 | 2770 | GM | Duda, Jan-Krzysztof | ½ - ½ | GM | Giri, Anish | 2690 | 2 | |||
| 5 | 9 | 2883 | GM | Carlsen, Magnus | 1 - 0 | GM | Saric, Ivan | 2593 | 1 |
Standings after Round 9
Round 10 pairings
| Bo. | No. | Rtg | White | Result | Black | Rtg | No. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | 2734 | GM | Praggnanandhaa, R | GM | Saric, Ivan | 2593 | 1 | ||||
| 2 | 9 | 2883 | GM | Carlsen, Magnus | GM | Giri, Anish | 2690 | 2 | ||||
| 3 | 8 | 2770 | GM | Duda, Jan-Krzysztof | GM | Firouzja, Alireza | 2814 | 3 | ||||
| 4 | 7 | 2723 | GM | Abdusattorov, Nodirbek | GM | Caruana, Fabiano | 2782 | 4 | ||||
| 5 | 6 | 2786 | GM | So, Wesley | GM | Gukesh, D | 2615 | 5 |
Schedule and Format
SuperUnited Rapid and Blitz will have three rounds per day in the Rapid portion from 2nd to 4th July. The Blitz event will take place on 5th and 6th July. It will be a double round-robin event for the Blitz which means nine rounds will be played on each day. Round 1 starts at 3 p.m. local time, 6:30 p.m. IST. It will be a 10-player Round Robin event. Time control for Rapid will be 25 minutes + 10 seconds increment. For Blitz, it will be 5 minutes + 2 seconds increment. Only on last day, 6th July, Blitz Round 10 will start at 2 p.m. local time, 5:30 p.m. IST.
Prize
The total prize fund for each of the Rapid and Blitz event is US$ 175000. The top three prizes are $40000, $30000 and $25000.
