Carlsen reacts to Gukesh's 'shocking' struggle in Blitz leg of SuperUnited Croatia: 'Couldn't really have gone any worse'

Magnus Carlsen said it was "shocking" for D Gukesh to struggle the way he did on the opening day of Blitz event at SuperUnited Rapid & Blitz Croatia on Saturday. Carlsen and Gukesh found themselves at the opposite ends of the Blitz standings – first and last respectively – with the latter losing his first five matches on the trot and ending the day with seven defeats in nine games.

This was after Gukesh shone in the Rapid leg of the tournament and finished top of the standings with 14 points, three more than the second-placed Jan-Krzysztof Duda with the reigning Classical world champion beating Carlsen along the way.

Carlsen, who had been crowned joint Blitz world champion along with Russian Grandmaster Ian Nepomniachtchi in December, emerged victorious against Gukesh on Saturday after back-to-back losses against the Indian.

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Carlsen hopes Gukesh comes back stronger on final day of event

And the legendary Norwegian GM hoped the 19-year-old would come out stronger and post a much better performance on Sunday, the second day of the Blitz event as well as the final day of the competition.

"The score is shocking... The good thing for him is it couldn't really have gone any worse," Carlsen told chess24 after the conclusion of the opening day of the Blitz event. "Hopefully for his sake he can calm down and play with a different attitude tomorrow, because now he doesn't really have anything to lose."

Despite his poor run on the opening day of the Blitz leg, Gukesh remains third on the overall standings – which will ultimately decide the winner of the tournament in Zagreb.

Carlsen, who had collected 10 points in the Rapid leg, currently leads the standings with 17.5 points and is followed by Duda with 16 and Gukesh with 15.5 – one more than American GM Wesley So, who trails the Indian at the fourth spot.

Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, the other Indian competing in the event, currently completes the top five with 13.5 points.