Gukesh beats Magnus Carlsen again, this time with the black pieces, in SuperUnited Rapid 2025

Defending world champion D Gukesh beat World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen yet again in the sixth round of the Grand Chess Tour SuperUnited Rapid 2025 in Zagreb, Croatia, on Thursday.

The Indian Grandmaster is now the sole leader in the tournament with 10 points.

Gukesh, who had shared the lead after Day 1, continued his dominant performance by defeating Uzbekistan’s Nodirbek Abdusattorov and American grandmaster Fabiano Caruana in the fourth and fifth rounds, before facing Carlsen in the high-stakes encounter.


Ahead of the clash, Carlsen had downplayed the challenge, saying he would treat the game "as if I’m playing one of the presumably weaker players."

However, Gukesh outplayed the Norwegian in the rapid format and made a strong statement. This was the first of three scheduled meetings between the two in the tournament. The remaining games will be played in the blitz format.

"It's nice that I could win two games in a row from losing positions, and against Magnus," Gukesh said after the win.

With five wins in a row, Gukesh takes a two-point lead into tomorrow’s final day of rapid chess.

Last month, the Indian teenager had stunned Carlsen in Round 6 of the Norway Chess 2025 tournament, pulling off a remarkable win from a losing position. The result marked Gukesh’s first-ever classical victory over the Norwegian grandmaster and made him only the second Indian to beat Carlsen at the elite tournament, after R Praggnanandhaa.