Overview

• Viswanathan Anand raised Gukesh’s report card from D minus to B after Norway Chess, praising his resourcefulness despite early-game errors.
• Gukesh secured his first classical wins over Magnus Carlsen and Arjun Erigaisi en route to a third-place finish at Norway Chess.
• D. Gukesh led the rapid section in Zagreb by three points before Magnus Carlsen launched a blitz comeback.
• Carlsen won eight of eighteen blitz games and drew the rest to clinch the Grand Chess Tour Rapid & Blitz title with a round to spare.
• Their rivalry now underscores Gukesh’s ascendancy in classical and rapid formats against Carlsen’s sustained blitz dominance.