Kasparov feels Gukesh not yet ready to conquer Blitz after sudden loss of form in Croatia: 'Something is wrong...'

Legendary Russian Grandmaster Garry Kasparov felt reigning Classical world champion D Gukesh isn’t ready for conquering Blitz chess just yet, especially after his poor performance in the format at the SuperUnited Rapid & Blitz Croatia event that concluded on Sunday.

Gukesh enjoyed a superb run in the Rapid section of the event, where defeated world No 1 Magnus Carlsen for the second consecutive time after beating him at last month’s Norway Chess and finished top of the standings with 14 points.

The third event of the 2025 Grand Chess Tour, however, was one where the winner would be decided by the total points accumulated across the Rapid and Blitz legs of the tournament.And it was in the latter where Gukesh undid all of his hard work in the Rapid games, enduring a horrid run that saw the 19-year-old end Day 1 of the Blitz leg with seven defeats in nine rounds, including the first five on the bounce.

More from Chess

Gukesh shatters image of a one-format champion with latest victory over Carlsen and Rapid title in Croatia D Gukesh’s secret to his latest win over Magnus Carlsen revealed: 'Chess wise, it's a tricky period'

Though Gukesh put up an improved display on the final day of the tournament, it wasn’t enough as he finished third on the overall standings in 19.5 points, behind Carlsen (22.5) and Wesley So (20).

‘We didn’t see the tenacity’

Former world champion and world No 1 Kasparov felt the solid victory over Carlsen had a psychological impact on the 19-year-old Indian Grandmaster which, together with his struggles in the Blitz format, led to his torrid run in the last two days of the event in Zagreb.

“I thought Gukesh’s games were feeble yesterday and today. Because it’s very fast, and he’s probably not ready to show his skills in Blitz,” Kasparov had said after the conclusion of the penultimate day of the tournament. “In Blitz, every gram of your energy that is being wasted on something else just has a very negative effect.”

“The games he lost today, some of them were just terrible. Losing to Magnus I understand, anybody can lose the game. But even in this game, we didn’t see the tenacity.

“Something is wrong with Gukesh. Yesterday was not a great day. His games were very feeble. Yes, he beat (Wesley) So, but his game against (Anish) Giri was a sign of trouble for me,” the 62-year-old added.

Thanks to Gukesh’s sudden drop in form, Carlsen surged ahead in the Blitz games and finished top of the standings despite claiming he produced his "B-game" in Zagreb.