Magnus Carlsen claimed the SuperUnited Rapid and Blitz Croatia title at Zagreb after five days of action across the two faster formats. Carlsen was third in the standings after the nine games in the rapid portion ended on Friday. But he ended up winning the event after 18 blitz games. The world no 1, with 10 points to his tally at the end of the rapid section, was actually four points behind leader Gukesh when the blitz portion began on Saturday. But he ended up winning the tournament by a healthy gap of 2.5 points over Wesley So, who finished ahead of world champion Gukesh. The world champion from India was three points behind Carlsen at the end.
“It doesn’t feel like I won. It feels like I just came here and played alright. But nobody really did anything special in the end. (When that happens) Then I usually end up winning,” Carlsen said in an interview after winning the title on Sunday. “I felt that I struggled most of the event… It felt that, especially in rapid, chances were kind of hard to come by. I had one good day yesterday and that turned out to be enough. Days like today, I could feel from the start that it’s not my day at all.”
Here are some numbers that encapsulate the journey of Magnus Carlsen and Gukesh in Zagreb.
0.3 percent: Gukesh’s chances of winning the tournament before the Zagreb event started as per 15,000 tournament simulations carried out by the Grand Chess Tour. These simulations gave Carlsen a 68.2 percent chance of winning the event with Alireza Firouozja second (11.8 percent) and Fabiano Caruana third (10.6%). Only Ivan Saric was given a lower chance of winning the event compared to Gukesh.
0.4 percent: Gukesh’s chances of winning the tournament after the first day of rapid as per organisers after 15,000 more simulations. Carlsen, by the end of Day 1, had increased his chances of winning to 80.2 percent.
7.8 percent: Gukesh’s chances of winning the tournament after the second day of rapid as per organisers after 15,000 fresh simulations. Carlsen, by the end of Day 2, was still the best bet to win, with a 56.1 percent chance.
31.7 percent: Gukesh’s chances of winning the tournament after the rapid section ended on day 3 (as per 15,000 fresh simulations). Carlsen at this stage was four points behind Gukesh, but was still the best bet to win, with a 34.8 percent chance.
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Three (points): The lead that the world champion had accrued after three days — and after nine games — of rapid chess. Gukesh had 14 points to his tally, with Jan-Krzysztof Duda, one of his seconds for the world championship battles last year, chasing him with 11 points. Carlsen, meanwhile, had 10 points.
Magnus Carlsen takes on Gukesh in a game at the SuperUnited Rapid and Blitz chess tournament in Zagreb. (PHOTO: Grand Chess Tour via Lennart Ootes)
1-1-1: The personal score of the head-to-head battle between Carlsen and Gukesh at Zagreb, with the world champion from India winning the rapid battle and the Norwegian winning the first blitz clash. The final game ended in a 14-move draw on Sunday.
INTERACTIVE: How Magnus Carlsen and Gukesh played out a 14-move draw
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READ MORE: Third battle of war between Gukesh and ‘survival mode’ Magnus Carlsen ends in 14 moves and lasts just over one minute
5.5: Number of points the Indian world champion won out of a possible 18 in the blitz section.
12.5: Number of points Carlsen won out of a possible 18 in the blitz section.
3-0: Gukesh’s score against Fabiano Caruana in three games in Zagreb (one rapid and two blitz games).
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Two: Despite Carlsen saying multiple times during the event that he was struggling with his “flow”, he lost just one rapid game (the infamous loss to Gukesh) and one blitz game (to Nodirbek Abdusattorov) in the 27 games.
