World Champion D Gukesh continued his impressive run in international chess by defeating World No.1 Magnus Carlsen in the sixth round of the rapid section at the Grand Chess Tour’s SuperUnited Rapid & Blitz Croatia in Zagreb on Thursday, July 3.
This victory came just days after Gukesh had beaten Carlsen in Stavanger at Norway Chess 2025.
Gukesh, playing with black pieces, defeated Carlsen after 49 moves in a game that saw the 18-year-old Indian turn the tables with a sharp pawn push on move 26.
The Norwegian grandmaster appeared to have a slight edge in the early stages with the English opening, but Gukesh stayed calm under pressure and gradually took control. As Carlsen’s time ran low, mistakes crept in, and he resigned in a difficult position.
This was Gukesh’s fifth win in a row at the tournament and gave him the sole lead with 10 points after six rounds. His latest victory also came after Carlsen had earlier made comments describing him as “one of the presumably weaker players” in the field.
World Champion Gukesh D stunned Magnus Carlsen in Round 6! A must-watch game that had us all on the edge of our seats!♟️#grandchesstour #chess pic.twitter.com/T3Ls0w8m0C
— Grand Chess Tour (@GrandChessTour) July 3, 2025
Gukesh had won the Classical World Championship in 2024 by beating Ding Liren in Singapore, becoming the youngest world champion in chess history.
The Grand Chess Tour’s Croatia leg features nine rounds of rapid and 18 rounds of blitz. Four of the world’s top five rated players are participating, including Carlsen, Fabiano Caruana, Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu, and Gukesh. Before the Carlsen match, Gukesh had defeated fellow Indian GM Praggnanandhaa in round five.
In other round six matches, Jan-Krzysztof Duda drew his game against Wesley So and remains second with 8 points. Fabiano Caruana registered his first win of the tournament by defeating Nodirbek Abdusattorov with the black pieces.
Gukesh now leads the event with three more rapid rounds remaining before the blitz section begins on Saturday.
