Dommaraju Gukesh And Vidit Gujrathi To Compete In Zagreb's Superunited Rapid And Blitz Chess Tournament

World Championship challenger D. Gukesh aims to improve his rapid and blitz chess skills, with Vidit Gujrathi joining as a wildcard entrant in the Superunited rapid and blitz chess tournament, part of the Grand Chess Tour.

Scheduled to face China’s Ding Liren in Singapore from November 20th to determine the next world champion, Gukesh has demonstrated superior abilities in Classical chess. However, he has yet to establish himself among the world elite in the faster formats.

In the event of a tie in the World Championship, the winner will be decided through rapid and blitz games. Gukesh is keen to improve in these formats, especially after Fabiano Caruana’s recent dominant tiebreak victories in Bucharest against Gukesh, R Praggnanandhaa, and Alireza Firouzja.

Vidit Gujrathi, competing as a wildcard, joins Gukesh in this $175,000 prize money tournament, featuring nine rounds of rapid and 18 rounds of blitz chess.

The tournament will see top players like Fabiano Caruana, who aims for consecutive wins on the tour, along with other strong contenders such as Ian Nepomniachtchi, Alireza Firouzja, Wesley So, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Anish Giri, local star Ivan Saric, and Levon Aronian.

While Wesley So struggles with form and Vachier-Lagrave seeks to prove himself again, Levon Aronian, despite past successes, is not in his prime. Anish Giri has had mixed results in faster formats but hopes for a strong finish.

All eyes will be on Gujrathi, who impressed in the last Candidates tournament and could potentially surprise the competition in Zagreb.

Players: