Gukesh ends day two with back-to-back wins
Alireza Firouzja extended his lead at the Super Rapid & Blitz Croatia tournament in Zagreb after producing the same score for a second consecutive day. The 23-year-old collected two wins and a draw on Thursday, moving to 10/12 points after six of the nine rapid rounds. Firouzja now stands 3 points clear of the field.
A four-player group shares second place on 7/12, formed by Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Vincent Keymer, Gukesh Dommaraju and Bogdan-Daniel Deac. Vachier-Lagrave is the only player other than Firouzja who remains undefeated in the tournament.
Calculation is at the heart of practical chess. Every chess concept builds on proper calculation technique. Therefore, all chess players should continuosly train the fundamental techniques, concepts and patterns this course will present. The goal isn’t only to teach you to calculate, but to give you the tools and insights to keep improving long after the final lesson.
Free sample video: Introduction
Free sample video: Quiet Moves
The event, the third leg of the Grand Chess Tour, is being played at the Westin Hotel in Zagreb. The rapid section is a single round-robin, with wins worth 2 points and draws worth 1 point. The standings will later be combined with the results of the blitz double round-robin.
Fans of all ages are enjoying the games in Zagreb! | Photo: Lennart Ootes
Firouzja’s victories on day two both came with the black pieces. He defeated Keymer in a double-edged, 26-move battle in round four. Later in the day, he beat Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu after the Indian grandmaster faltered in an objectively drawn endgame. Firouzja has now won all three of his games with black in the tournament.
Keymer and Vachier-Lagrave both began day two in the chasing pack and remain there after six rounds. Meanwhile, Gukesh and Deac both scored 4/6 on Thursday to join the group in second place.
Deac started the day with a win over Gukesh, outplaying the world champion in a complex middlegame, and then drew his remaining two games. Gukesh, on his part, recovered from the round-four loss with consecutive wins over Jorden van Foreest and Anish Giri. The Indian grandmaster has so far drawn only one game in the tournament, which has left him with a sharp scorecard: wins and losses have defined most of his campaign in Zagreb.
Firouzja and Gukesh have not yet met in the rapid section. Their game is scheduled for Friday’s ninth round, with Gukesh playing black against the current leader.
Bogdan-Daniel Deac has so far scored wins over Ivan Saric and none other than reigning world champion Gukesh Dommaraju | Photo: Lennart Ootes
Keymer 0-1 Firouzja
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Free video sample: Introduction
Free video sample: King’s Indian Setup
Alireza Firouzja | Photo: Lennart Ootes
Gukesh 1-0 Giri
Tied for second place – Gukesh Dommaraju | Photo: Lennart Ootes