Carlsen downplays victory at SuperUnited Rapid & Blitz Croatia: 'I had one good day... that turned out to be enough'

Magnus Carlsen was back at his cheeky self after clinching the SuperUnited Rapid and Blitz Croatia title on Sunday, surging past Wesley So and D Gukesh to the top spot despite a slow start to his campaign. Reacting to his victory with a total of 22.5 points that made him richer by US$40,000, Carlsen said that his "B-game" proved enough for him to secure the title who nobody else in the 10-man competition had a great run either.

Carlsen admits to struggling at Zagreb despite clinching title

And in a chat with the tournament organisers after his triumph in Zagreb, which hosted the third event of the 2025 Grand Chess Tour, the legendary Norwegian Grandmaster said that it was "one good day" that helped him land the title. Carlsen, however, added that he was a "little bit lucky" along the way.

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"I felt that I struggled most of the event. Partly because it was a very strong field this year. There weren’t a lot of weaker players at all. It wasn’t obvious who was going to score poorly and who was going to score well against the others. It felt like, especially in rapid, chances were kind of hard to come by," Carlsen said in a chat with Grand Chess Tour after his victory.

"I had one good day, really, which was yesterday, and that turned out to be enough, which was a little bit lucky, but it speaks to the fact that it was a fairly even tournament overall and nobody could really break away from the pack. It doesn’t feel like I’ve won really.

"It feels like I just came here, played alright, and nobody really did anything special in the end, and then I usually end up winning," he added.

Carlsen was third in the standings with 10 points after a mixed run in the Rapid leg of the tournament, during which he suffered a second defeat in as many meetings against Indian GM Gukesh, who was at the top with 14 points.

Carlsen, however, surged past Gukesh to the top spot after collecting six wins and three draws on the first day of the Blitz games, with the Indian suffering seven defeats in nine games including the first five on the trot.

Despite a relatively better performance from the Classical world champion on the final day of the event, Gukesh failed to catch up with Carlsen as he finished third overall with 19.5 points – three fewer than the champion.