Fabiano Caruana of the USA won the 2024 Superunited Rapid and Blitz tournament in Croatia, finishing with 27 points, equalling Magnus Carlsen’s record tally on the Grand Chess Tour (GCT).
D Gukesh finished seventh in the event while Vidit Gujrathi finished second from last, marking a disappointing outing for the Indian pair.
Caruana has now won back-to-back wins on the GCT, first clinching the Superbet classic followed by a massacre of the field in Superunited Rapid and Blitz.
He now leads the GCT with two events to go (22.25 points), leading Alireza Firouzja (17.58 points).
India’s Praggnanandhaa and Gukesh slipped to third and fourth (16.25 and 14.25 pts) positions on the GCT standings.
The Blitz games at Zagreb
In a disastrous start, Gukesh ended the first day of the blitz games losing six out of the nine games and ending with 2.5 points, the lowest for the day.
He could only manage to accumulate the same points the following day as well, with three draws and a win from his nine games, taking his overall blitz tally to 5 points – the lowest among all participants.
The 18-year-old Indian finished seventh in the tournament with 14 points overall.
GM Vidit Gujrathi fared slightly better than Gukesh on the last day of the event, earning 3.5 points with two wins and three draws. He scored the same number of points on the first day as well.
Notably, Vidit won his two blitz games against the world championship challenger Gukesh. He finished with a total score of 11 and ninth in the standings.
What’s Next for the Indians?
R Praggnanandhaa will be competing in the Biel Masters from tomorrow in the Classical format.
Gukesh will return to classical chess in the Sinquefield Cup at the Saint Louis Chess Club for last-moment preparations before the World Championship match. He will also compete in the International Chess Olympiad in Budapest.
Praggnanandhaa will also join Gukesh in the Sinquefield Cup and Olympiad.
Gujrathi is expected to participate in the World Team Rapids and Blitz starting from August first week and will also join the Olympiad subsequently.
With over four months remaining for the world championships, the catastrophe in the Superunited Rapid and Blitz should not be too concerning for Gukesh.
It is expected that he will bounce back stronger in the upcoming events.