SuperUnited Chess: Gukesh takes 3-point lead ahead of blitz section in Croatia

Indian Grandmaster Gukesh Dommaraju extended his dominating run in the 2025 SuperUnited Rapid and Blitz event in Zagreb, Croatia as he opened up a three-point lead at the end of the rapid event.

Gukesh, the reigning classical world chess champion, was dubbed as one of the weaker players in the field ahead of the event by world No 1 and five-time world champion Magnus Carlsen.

The 19-year-old Gukesh, however, proved his critics wrong by finishing the rapid event with 14 points out of a possible 18. He leads the second placed Jan Krzysztof Duda by three points before the blitz section gets underway.

The Indian did not have best of starts, losing his opening match against Duda but bounced back brilliantly. He registered five consecutive wins, which included a commanding victory over Carlsen to open up a two-point lead heading into the final set of rapid games on Friday.

On Friday, Gukesh played out draws against Anish Giri and local star Ivan Saric before taking down the experienced Wesely So in the final round of play to extend his lead to three points.

Gukesh, who started the tournament ranked 42nd in the world in rapid, gained 32.8 rating points over the last three days and climbed up to world No 28 in the LIVE ratings.

While the tournament is still far from over with 18 points in offer in the blitz section, Gukesh has put himself in the drivers seat to walk away with the title at the SuperUnited Rapid and Blitz.