Gukesh stuns Carlsen yet again, forces Norwegian to resign at SuperUnited Rapid and Blitz
There wasn't any angry fist drop on the table or an animated reaction from Carlsen, who blundered from a win position yet again. With Gukesh standing triumphant, he emerged as the sole leader with 10 points at the end of the second day, with Carlsen trailing with six points. Ahead of the final set of games, Gukesh maintains a two-point advantage over Jan-Krzysztof Duda, who remains his closest challenger.
Last month, Gukesh pulled off a stunning victory against the former world number one in Round 6 of the Norway Chess and continued to keep his scorching form intact. Carlsen lined up with the white pieces, while Gukesh attempted to assert control with the black pieces.
The Norwegian enjoyed an early dominance and tried to create openings against the teenage Indian grandmaster in the rapid game. However, the game completely turned in Gukesh's favour after he blundered by choosing to push his b pawn to b4. Gukesh seized control from that point, forcing Carlsen back in the gripping contest.
With less than 30 seconds left on the clock for Carlsen, the Norwegian realised the fate of the contest and decided to resign. He shook Gukesh's hand without showing much emotion or making eye contact.
"Now we can question Magnus' domination because this is not just his second loss to Gukesh, it's a convincing loss," former world champion Garry Kasparov said, who was on commentary for the official stream. Kasparov wasn't impressed with Carlsen's decision to move his pawn to b4.
Gukesh was pleased to turn around the contest after mixing up a couple of his initial moves and said after the contest, "Beating Magnus is always special, and this gives a bit more confidence. I had a horrible opening."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Times of Oman
21 hours ago
- Times of Oman
Duplantis breaks pole vault world record at Budapest Grand Prix
BUDAPEST:: Swedish Olympic champion Armand Duplantis set his 13th world record by clearing 6.29 meters in men's pole vault at the Istvan Gyulai Memorial, a World Athletics Continental Tour Gold event here on Tuesday. Duplantis, the 2023 world champion and 2024 Paris Olympic winner, tied at 6.02m with Greek athlete Emmanouil Karalis on their first attempts. Karalis failed to clear 6.11m after two attempts, while Duplantis succeeded before surpassing his own world record by one centimeter, which he had set in Stockholm in June. The 25-year-old achieved the new mark on his second attempt, making it the first world record at the National Athletic Center. "It was really special. I felt it from the start, even though not all my jumps were perfect. There was something in the air today. I've had a fantastic week in Budapest. I fell in love with the city," Duplantis said after his record-breaking jump at the Hungarian Athletics Grand Prix. Duplantis also praised Hungarian cuisine. "Maybe the Hungarian Goulash is the perfect recipe for the world record. I had some really nice goulash two days ago, and that's probably not a coincidence for jumping so high today. I think it's really nice. I'm probably going to have some goulash tonight too and celebrate with Hungarian beer," he said with a laugh. Hungarian hammer throw world and Olympic medalist Bence Halasz set a meet record with a season-best throw of 83.18m. Jamaican sprinter Bryan Levell won the men's 200m in 19.69 seconds. Kenya's Laban Kipkorir Chepkwony dominated the men's 800m with a personal best of 1:42.96, breaking the meeting record set nine years ago by world record-holder David Rudisha. In the women's events, Australian Georgia Griffith claimed victory in the 1500m with a meet record of 3:58.25, while Tina Sutej from Slovenia renewed the pole vault meet record at 4.73m. Femke Bol of the Netherlands won the women's 400m hurdles in 52.24. "I'm happy with the win and with how consistent I've been in the low 52s. I feel better than before. Tokyo is coming, and I hope to bring an even stronger performance there," said Bol. The World Athletics Championships will be held from Sept. 13 to 21 in Tokyo, Japan.
Times of Oman
3 days ago
- Times of Oman
Florian Wirtz wins German men's Footballer of the Year award
Striker Florian Wirtz has been voted Germany's men's Footballer of the Year for 2024-25 following another standout season at Bayer Leverkusen. Meanwhile, international teammates Giulia Gwinn and Ann-Katrin Berger will share the women's award and both received 145 votes from the members of the Association of German Sports Journalists (VDS). The yearly poll, which is organized by German sports magazine Kicker, also saw Freiburg coach Julian Schuster voted Coach of the Year after he led his club to the Europa League in his first year in charge. Wirtz streets ahead of closest challengers for award Wirtz, who moved to Liverpool during the summer for a fee that could climb to £116 million (€134 million; $156 million), received 191 votes after scoring 16 goals and contributing 15 assists across all competitions for Leverkusen last season. "In football, the personal recognition of individual players is always and above all an award for the collective," Wirtz said. "I am aware that I still have a lot of work ahead of me to meet all the expectations that are associated with an award such as Footballer of the Year." The 22-year-old won 191 votes as he came in ahead of Michael Olise of Bayern Munich (81), Nick Woltemade of Stuttgart (71) and Thomas Müller (70), who last week joined MSL side the Vancouver Whitecaps after an illustrious career at Bayern. "I can't think of a more worthy successor than you," former winner Toni Kroos said of Wirtz. Berger's impressive Euros helps seal shared trophy Meanwhile, Gwinn and Berger could not be separated despite the pair having opposing luck during the Women's European Championship in Switzerland in the summer. Germany captain Gwinn suffered a tournament-ending injury during the team's opening match of the competition against Poland. Despite the setback, Germany reached the semifinals of the Euros, as goalkeeper Berger starred — making numerous outstanding saves throughout which saw her named in the Team of the Tournament. The shot-stopper also led her National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) side to the semifinals, as Gotham finished third overall.
Times of Oman
4 days ago
- Times of Oman
Different situations for La Liga's top-four clubs in new season
MADRID: With La Liga due to kick off the 2025-26 season in less than a week, last year's top four teams are all at slightly different points in their respective preparations. Domestic and European competitions hardly gave any respite ahead of next summer's FIFA World Cup finals. Reigning La Liga and Copa del Rey champion FC Barcelona has made two signings in striker Marcus Rashford and goalkeeper Joan Garcia, but has so far not been able to register either that pair or Gerard Martin and Wojciech Szczesny in its first-team squad due to Spain's strict financial fair play regulations. That leaves Inaki Pena as the only first team goalkeeper currently available, and has forced the team to take the shock decision to allow central defender Inigo Martinez to join Saudi Arabian side Al Nassr on a free transfer to free up salary under the wage ceiling. The club has also pressured Marc-Andre ter Stegen to sign a medical report to say he will be out of action for five months, which will allow the club to use 80 percent of his salary to register Rashford and company. Barca had a successful pre-season tour of Japan and South Korea that showed once again how important young winger Lamine Yamal, Raphinha and midfielder Pedri are, and if none of them get injured in what promises to be another grueling campaign, Barca will start as favorite to retain the title. Real Madrid has a new coach in Xabi Alonso and new signings in defenders Dean Huijsen, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Alvaro Carreras, with Huijsen looking very impressive in the summer's Club World Cup. The big problem for Alonso is a lack of preparation time after playing in the United States until mid-July, with his players only reporting back for training on August 4, just two weeks before starting the season at home to Osasuna. Alonso will also be without Jude Bellingham for the opening weeks after he had an operation on a long-standing shoulder injury, and the doubt is whether Alonso will play with a flat back four or three central defenders and wingbacks, with the latter likely to suit Alexander-Arnold. The coach will also probably want to see more pressing high up the field from Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius in attack, but if the pair gel, then Real Madrid will be title candidates. Atletico Madrid has also spent heavily this summer, bringing in midfielders Johnny Cardoso and Thiago Almada, winger Alex Baena and defenders Matteo Ruggeri and David Hancko as Diego Simeone's side looks to improve on last season's third place. The club has retained strikers Alexander Sorloth and Julian Alvarez, who scored 37 La Liga goals between them last season, and if Simeone shows ambition, rather than allowing his defensive instincts to rule, Atletico certainly has the talent to challenge, although Simeone's men also go into the new season slightly short of preparation after the Club World Cup. Athletic Bilbao ended last season in fourth place under coach Ernesto Valverde. Athletic's big win of the summer was keeping star player Nico Williams amid interest from Barcelona, while attacking midfielder Robert Navarro and full-back Jesus Areso look to be good additions to the squad. Athletic's pre-season was complicated by a suspension for defender Yeray Alvarez after the two-time cancer survivor tested positive for a product to prevent hair loss, robbing Valverde of a key player, while another defender Unai Egiluz suffered a season-ending knee injury in a friendly. Athletic's season could depend to an extent on whether it is successful in its efforts to tempt Spain international defender Aymeric Laporte back to the club, and if they do, they will be tough to beat, especially in the passionate San Mames Stadium.
