Chess world champion D Gukesh defied the odds to finish in the joint lead with former champion Magnus Carlsen on Day 1 of the SuperUnited Croatia Rapid & Blitz 2025, Wednesday, after the Indian Grandmaster was called “one of the presumably weaker players” by the Norwegian world No.1.

Gukesh defeated Alireza Firouzja and compatriot R Praggnanandhaa, besides suffering a defeat against Jan-Krzysztof Duda, while Carlsen registered two draws and a win. Both Gukesh and Carlsen are in the lead with 4/6 points, along with So and Duda.

Gukesh proves Carlsen wrong with strong start

Gukesh will face Carlsen on Day 2 and will likely have in mind the recent criticism the five-time world champion made about the 19-year-old Indian’s rapid and blitz games.

“Playing him in this tournament I will approach it as if I’m playing one of the presumably weaker players,” Carlsen had said ahead of the tournament while discussing his upcoming match with Gukesh.

Carlsen further added that Gukesh still has a lot ot prove in the rapid and blitz formats that are played under after time controls.

“Gukesh actually played quite well here last time. But it remains to be proven that he’s one of the best players in such a format. This is a very, very strong field that we have here. Players like Gukesh and Anish Giri… they have a lot to prove because there aren’t a lot of players you can feast on. In the course of 27 rounds, things usually show. I hope for Gukesh’s sake that he can play better.”

The classical format with longer time controls, in which Gukesh won the World Chess Championship in 2024, is seen as the Indian teenager’s biggest strength.

Carlsen, meanwhile, has tipped Firouzja and Fabiano Caruana as the favourites to win the SuperUnited Croatia Rapid & Blitz 2025. Besides the players mentioned above, the other Grandmasters taking part in the tournament are Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Ivan Saric.