In the ongoing Superbet rapid and blitz tournament in Warsaw, Indian Grandmaster D. Gukesh showcased remarkable resilience and skill. After a slow start, Gukesh bounced back to secure victories against his compatriot R. Praggnanandhaa and Germany’s Vincent Keymer. Notably, Gukesh held World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen to a draw in the sixth round.
Praggnanandhaa also impressed with a strong performance, particularly in the fifth round, where he defeated Anish Giri of the Netherlands. He followed up with another victory over Keymer in the sixth round.
In the overall standings, Norway’s Carlsen and China’s Wei Yi share the lead with eight points each. Praggnanandhaa and Shevchenko follow closely with seven points, while Gukesh and Arjun Erigaisi occupy joint fifth place with six points.
Gukesh’s journey in the tournament was not without its challenges. Starting with losses in the first two rounds and a lone draw in the third, Gukesh showed immense grit to overcome Praggnanandhaa in the fourth round, winning in 41 moves. The middle game arising from a double fianchetto by white did not offer much scope for Gukesh, and his position worsened as Praggnanandhaa launched a kingside attack by advancing his pawns. Despite getting close to a winning position, Praggnanandhaa could not maintain his composure, allowing Gukesh to make a strong comeback.
In the next round, Praggnanandhaa was on target with some difficult moves to grind down Giri in just 21 moves out of an irregular Queen pawn game. Giri fell prey to a brilliant rook maneuver and blundered early. Gukesh made the most of his chances to crush Keymer, who played white. The tactical complications led to a wild position in the middle game, with Keymer’s king going for a long walk. It was difficult for him to recover from there, and Gukesh finished the game with a queen sacrifice.
Arjun faced a setback in the day’s opener against Duda but bounced back with an exemplary game to outplay Shevchenko. In the last game of the day, Arjun played out a draw with Abdusattorov, keeping himself within striking distance of the leader’s pack.
Carlsen remained solid, scoring one win and two draws for the second day running. His victory over Abdusattorov in the fifth round showcased his superior skills in grinding down a rival, while against Gukesh, he missed a promising continuation before signing peace.
Wei Yi was the star of the day, scoring three victories on the trot to join Carlsen in the lead. Starting with a win against Giri, the Chinese wrapped it up against Duda before handing Shevchenko his second defeat of the day.
