Gukesh wins rapid title at Grand Chess Tour 2025 Zagreb

D. Gukesh won the rapid title of the Grand Chess Tour 2025 Rapid & Blitz in Zagreb, Croatia, on Friday, with Poland’s Jan-Krzysztof Duda finishing in second.

The reigning World Champion bounced back from a loss in the first round and registered five consecutive wins — including one against Magnus Carlsen — to storm into the sole lead.

The 19-year-old drew in the seventh and eighth rounds, with Anish Giri and Ivan Saric, respectively, before beating Wesley So in the last round of the rapid section to finish with 14 points.

Duda scored 11 points to finish second, while Carlsen ended with 10 points to secure third. The only other Indian in the fray, R. Praggnanandhaa, got nine points, to share fourth place with Fabiano Caruana.

The blitz section will take place this weekend, on July 5 and 6. The player with the most points combined at the end of the final day will win the overall title.

This is the third tournament of the GCT 2025 calendar — the Poland and Romania editions finished in April and May, respectively. Praggnanandhaa won the title in Bucharest, Romania and finished third in Warsaw, Poland.

Two tournaments will take place in the U.S. in August, with the final one taking place in Brazil from September to October, which will feature the classic, rapid and blitz sections.