Why ‘grindmaster’ Gukesh leads by three points at Zagreb after three days of rapid chess

You can read our analysis of how Gukesh defeated Magnus Carlsen here.

It’s been a heady three days in Zagreb for classical world champion Gukesh. He had flown to Croatia’s capital with many questioning his skills in the faster time control events of rapid and blitz. The common refrain was that his calculating style of play needed too much time, a luxury he would not have in rapid or blitz games. When he lost his first game, it seemed par for the course. But then, Gukesh hit his stride, defeating five of the strongest players in the field — Alireza Firouzja, Praggnanandhaa, Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Fabiano Caruana and Carlsen. On Friday, he drew two of his three games against Anish Giri and Ivan Saric before wrapping up the rapid section with a win over Wesley So.

Gukesh walks into the weekend — where players will play 18 blitz games over two days — leading one of the strongest fields assembled at the event with 14 points to his name. In rapid, a win earned a player two points while in blitz, each win will be worth a point.

The Indian has a three-point lead after the rapid portion. He has 14 points to his tally, while Jan-Krzysztof Duda, one of his seconds for the world championship battles last year, has 11 points. Carlsen is on 10. The other Indian in the fray, Praggnanandhaa, is tied in fourth spot with nine points.

Recently, when asked what he had learnt over the years of playing chess, Gukesh had said: “I’ve learned that when my back is against the wall I do everything I can, not only in chess but even if I’m playing some other sport. If I’m down by a match point in tennis—I don’t play tennis too well—but I still manage to give my 100% when my back is against the wall.”

Magnus Carlsen reacts after resigning against Gukesh in a rapid game at the SuperUnited Rapid and Blitz Croatia 2025 in Zagreb on Thursday. (PHOTO: Grand Chess Tour via Lennart Ootes)

Carlsen himself had some acerbic things to say about Gukesh before the tournament started. He said that he would face Gukesh thinking of him as “one of the weaker players in the field.”

“Gukesh hasn’t done anything to indicate that he’s going to do well (in rapid and blitz). It remains to be proven that he’s one of the best players in such a format. Players like Gukesh have a lot to prove. In the course of 27 rounds, things usually show. I hope for Gukesh’s sake that he can play better,” Carlsen said before the tournament began.

So far, Gukesh has served plenty of humble pie. If there had been a sense of Carlsen blundering away the game at Norway Chess, in Zagreb, Gukesh had fought his way out of a bad position in the opening to get a victory. It was an attribute even Carlsen had praised a few weeks after Norway Chess, telling Pardon My take in an interview that at Norway Chess, if it had been any other opponent rather than Gukesh, they would have thrown the towel much earlier and resigned. Instead Gukesh had dug in his heels and kept extending the game: this attribute to grind out a win was one that Carlsen himself was famous for back in the day.

READ MORE | Magnus Carlsen reacts to Gukesh defeat: ‘Poor from me, got soundly punished… but all credit to Gukesh’

Kasparov, a man who became the human face of man versus machine encounters, like the ones against IBM’s Deep Blue in the 1990s, said it best: “Gukesh is a player that’s hard to beat. He has many lives (in each game). You have to beat him many times. There is some resemblance (to computers). He has a resilience that reminds me of computers. He’s probably the most resilient player. Even Magnus has other advantages. But when it comes to resilience, he’s absolutely amazing. If you look at the infamous game against Magnus (at Norway Chess), I don’t recall Magnus ever losing a game when he had an advantage of +3 or +4. Why he reminds me of computers is that with machines, you lose your concentration and you’re dead. With Gukesh you have to beat him five times.”

Usually, Gukesh’s calculating style has required him to think long and hard, which required him to burn time on the clock. At the SuperUnited Rapid and Blitz Croatia 2025, Gukesh has constantly stayed ahead on the clock against opponents, even those like Caruana and Carlsen, when the fight entered the endgame.

READ MORE | Susan Polgar on Gukesh: ‘Some doubted his worthiness as World Champion… written off as a bottom feeder at Zagreb’

“This game against Gukesh was the low point,” said Caruana on Friday. “One of my worst games of the tournament. I had such a nice position from the opening, and I was juggling all sorts of possibilities. He has been very impressive here. His wins have not been the result of opening prep. Just good practical play, putting pressure and good calculation. He does deserve this score.”

Caruana added that Gukesh was “underestimated in rapid chess”. “Never felt he was an easy opponent at all in rapid,” the American said.

Now, the rest of the world’s realising it as well.