Gukesh beats Wesley So, leads Croatia event

Zagreb

Indian chess star Gukesh Dommaraju showed his great form by defeating American player Wesley So in the final rapid round of the SuperUnited Croatia Rapid & Blitz 2025 tournament on Friday. Gukesh, who is the youngest World Champion in classical chess, won with white pieces in 38 moves. With this win, he finished the rapid section on top with 14 points from nine rounds.

Jan-Krzysztof Duda from Poland is second with 11 points, and Norway’s Magnus Carlsen is third with 10 points. India's Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu stands fourth with nine points.

Wesley So is known to be strong in rapid chess and is ranked 15th, while Gukesh was only 42nd. Many people thought Gukesh was weak in rapid chess, including Carlsen who even called him a “weak player.” But Gukesh proved them wrong by winning seven games in the rapid section, including a big win against Carlsen himself in the sixth round.

At only 18 years old, Gukesh is now leading into the blitz part of the event with a big advantage. The tournament will continue with 18 rounds of blitz games. Four of the world’s top five players — Carlsen, Fabiano Caruana, Praggnanandhaa, and Gukesh — are playing in this event.

In other results, Alireza Firouzja drew with Nodirbek Abdusattorov. Carlsen drew with Anish Giri, and Praggnanandhaa shared points with Duda. Fabiano Caruana defeated Ivan Saric with white pieces.

Gukesh's strong performance has surprised many and given Indian chess fans hope for more wins in the coming rounds.