SuperUnited Rapid 2025: Gukesh beats Praggnanandha, gets in a four-way lead with Carlsen, So and Duda
The first three rounds of Grand Chess Tour SuperUnited Rapid 2025 was as exciting as expected and more. The field includes seven out of the World Top 10. The World Champion, D Gukesh defeated R Praggnanandhaaa to join the lead with Magnus Carlsen (NOR), Wesley So (USA) and Jan-Krzysztof Duda (POL). Vintage Carlsen grinded an equal endgame against So. In the following round, he was on the verge of a loss in the final moments of a queen endgame against Duda. After starting with a loss, Gukesh won the next two games including a win over Alireza Firouzja (FRA) and the former's compatriot. Gukesh will face Carlsen in the sixth round today. Round 4 starts today from 3 p.m. local time, 6:30 p.m. IST. Photo: Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour
An exciting start
When the lineup is this good, one can easily expect fireworks from the get-go. The first three rounds were a testament to that fact. Apart from seven players out of World Top 10 taking part in this event, the remaining two out of three are - FIDE World Cup 2021 and first Official Fischer Random World Champion.
Round 1: Saric - Carlsen: 1-1
Ivan Saric (CRO, 2754) had the sole draw against Magnus Carlsen (NOR, 2819) in a Rapid rated game two years ago at the very same event. Last year, the World no.1 skipped the event. Two years later, Saric repeated the same result.
Duda - Gukesh: 2-0
Jan-Krzysztof Duda (POL, 2699) played three Rapid rated games against D Gukesh (2654). Duda won two and the other one ended in a draw.
Black was in trouble after 16.h6 g6 17.a3 Nxa3 18.Na4 Bxd2+ 19.Qxd2 Nb5 20.Rhg1 f6 21.f4 f5 22.Nd4 fxe4 23.Nxb5 cxb5 24.Nc3 d5 25.f5 would have probably ended the game sooner. 25.Qd4 was played and White went on to win the game.
Firouzja - Praggnanandhaa: 1-1
Alireza Firouzja (FRA, 2767) and R Praggnanandhaa (2688) have played only two Rapid rated games. Firouzja won one and the other one ended in a draw.
White made a nice pawn sacrifice to create some practical chances and muddy the waters 35.e6! fxe6 36.f6 Kg6 37.fxg7 Kh7 38.Ke5 b3 39.Kf6 e5 40.Nf5 Bg8 41.Kxe5?? created a winning chance for Black
41...b2! was winning for Black as 42.Rb7 runs into Rb3. Being low on time made Black miss this and play 41...Rc5+ directly 42.Kf4 and the game ended in a draw in the next few moves.
Round 2: Carlsen - So: 2-0
Magnus Carlsen (NOR, 2819) played a lot of Rapid rated games against Wesley So (USA, 2709). Carlsen won the last one in November 2024. This time the result was also the same.
Carlsen grinded an equal double bishop vs bishop and knight endgame into a win.
Abdusattorov - Praggnanandhaa: 1-1
After suffering a loss in the last round of 2nd UzChess Cup Masters and eventually the tournament, Nodirbek Abdusattorov (UZB, 2740) opted for 1.d4 against R Praggnanandhaa (2688). Despite getting a pleasant position out of the opening, White was not able to get much and the game eventually ended in a draw.
Gukesh - Firouzja: 2-0
The World Champion, D Gukesh and Alireza Firouzja played Rapid rated games only at this event. Their first two encounters at the very same event ended in draws in 2023 and 2024. Gukesh played boldly and got the upper hand early in the middlegame. Firouzja incorrectly recaptured his opponent's knight and blundered an exchange.
33...Rxd5?? 34.Bf1+- Rb5 35.Qxb5 Qxe3+ 36.Rxe3 axb5 37.Bxb5 Bh6 38.Rec3 and White went on to win the game with precise play.
Round 3: Praggnanandhaa - Gukesh: 0-2
R Praggnanandhaa and D Gukesh played only two Rapid rated games. Gukesh won both of them. The third one also went in the World Champion's way.
31.bxc6 bxc6 32.Rdc1? Qxc5 White blundered 33.Nxc6?? Qxc6 34.Bxd5 Ne5 35.Qd1 Qd7 36.Rxc8 Rxc8 37.f4 Nc6 38.g5 Bd4 and Black won as White does not have enough compensation for the lost knight.
Duda - Carlsen
The World no.1 made a rare and huge error 62...Qb2+?? in the final moments of the game. 63.Kg1!+- would have been winning for White. However, he overlooked it and played 63.Kf3 Qb7+ 64.Kf2 and the game ended in a draw.
Replay live stream
Replay Round 1-3 games
Round 3 results
| Bo. | No. | Rtg | White | Result | Black | Rtg | No. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 2589 | GM | Saric, Ivan | ½ - ½ | GM | Abdusattorov, Nodirbek | 2740 | 10 | |||
| 2 | 3 | 2709 | GM | So, Wesley | 1 - 0 | GM | Giri, Anish | 2687 | 1 | |||
| 3 | 4 | 2699 | GM | Duda, Jan-Krzysztof | ½ - ½ | GM | Carlsen, Magnus | 2819 | 9 | |||
| 4 | 5 | 2767 | GM | Firouzja, Alireza | ½ - ½ | GM | Caruana, Fabiano | 2756 | 8 | |||
| 5 | 6 | 2688 | GM | Praggnanandhaa, R | 0 - 1 | GM | Gukesh, D | 2654 | 7 |
Standings after Round 3
Round 4 pairings
| Bo. | No. | Rtg | White | Result | Black | Rtg | No. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | 2740 | GM | Abdusattorov, Nodirbek | GM | Gukesh, D | 2654 | 7 | ||||
| 2 | 8 | 2756 | GM | Caruana, Fabiano | GM | Praggnanandhaa, R | 2688 | 6 | ||||
| 3 | 9 | 2819 | GM | Carlsen, Magnus | GM | Firouzja, Alireza | 2767 | 5 | ||||
| 4 | 1 | 2687 | GM | Giri, Anish | GM | Duda, Jan-Krzysztof | 2699 | 4 | ||||
| 5 | 2 | 2589 | GM | Saric, Ivan | GM | So, Wesley | 2709 | 3 |
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.
