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There was no stopping Fabiano Caruana at the third event in this year’s Grand Chess Tour, the SuperUnited Rapid & Blitz Tournament in Croatia. The world’s number 3 only drew 7 of the 27 games he played throughout the five days of action in Zagreb, scoring 16 wins and 4 losses for an overall 27/36 score (wins are worth 2 points in the rapid section).
Going into the second half of the blitz — i.e. the final 9 rounds set to take place on Sunday — Caruana had a whopping 4½-point lead over his closest chasers, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Wesley So. An impressive start with 3½ points in the first four rounds of the day secured Caruana overall victory with five rounds to spare. In his final five games, Caruana grabbed 2 wins, 1 draw and 2 losses, as three of his colleagues fought fiercely for second place.
Caruana’s 27/36 score tied the best-ever performance seen previously in a Rapid & Blitz event of the Grand Chess Tour. Not surprisingly, it was Magnus Carlsen who held the record, as he had also collected 27 points at the 2019 Tata Steel Chess India event in Kolkata. Tarjei J. Svensen has been keepin score.
Top #GrandChessTour R&B scores:
— Tarjei J. Svensen (@TarjeiJS) July 14, 2024
2024 Zagreb: 27.0 (Caruana)
2019 Kolkata: 27,0 (Carlsen)
2019 Abidjan: 26,5 (Carlsen)
2023 Zagreb: 26 (Carlsen)
2022 St Louis: 26 (Firouzja)
2024 Warsaw 26 (Carlsen)
2016 Paris: 25,5 (Nakamura)
2017 Leuven: 25,5 (Carlsen)
2021 Paris: 24,5 (So)
| Player | Rapid | Blitz | Total | Tour Points | Prize money | |
| 1 | Fabiano Caruana (USA) | 15 | 12 | 27 | 13 | $40,000 |
| 2 | Wesley So (USA) | 12 | 11 | 23 | 8.33 | $25,000 |
| 3 | Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA) | 10 | 13 | 23 | 8.33 | $25,000 |
| 4 | Alireza Firouzja (FRA) | 10 | 13 | 23 | 8.33 | $25,000 |
| 5 | Ian Nepomniachtchi (FIDE) | 10 | 8.5 | 18.5 | 6 | $15,000 |
| 6 | Levon Aronian (USA) | 11 | 6 | 17 | WC (5) | $11,000 |
| 7 | Gukesh D (IND) | 9 | 5 | 14 | 4 | $10,000 |
| 8 | Anish Giri (NED) | 6 | 7½ | 13½ | 3 | $9,000 |
| 9 | Vidit Gujrathi (IND) | 4 | 7 | 11 | WC (2) | $8,000 |
| 10 | Ivan Šarić (CRO) | 3 | 7 | 10 | WC (1) | $7,000 |
WC = Wildcard
Known for his theoretical knowledge and remarkable calculation abilities, Caruana has always been regarded as mainly a strong classical player, as he has at times shown inconsistent results in quick-play formats. This changed in the last few years, though, as he is now ranked second in the world in the rapid live ranking and sixth in the world in the blitz live ranking.
Besides grabbing the US$ 40,000 prize for first place, Caruana became the leader in the GCT standings. The man from Miami comes from winning the Superbet Classic in Bucharest, and is the tour’s defending champion.
All the participants received jerseys of the Croatian football team — all with number 10, which was famously worn by living legend Luka Modric | Photo: Lennart Ootes
Fabiano Caruana signing autographs for his many fans | Photo: Lennart Ootes
Also a fan favourite — Maxime Vachier-Lagrave | Photo: Lennart Ootes
With Caruana securing overall victory so early in the day, all eyes turned to the fight for second place, which saw three players getting a clear edge over the rest of the field while, of course, being unable to catch the runaway leader.
Suitably, the three contenders ended up tied for second place with 23 points each. Wesley So and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, who entered the final day of action as Caruana’s closest chasers, were also sharing second place prior to the tournament’s final round. Alireza Firouzja, also mimicking the standings after day 4, stood at a half-point distance.
While MVL and So both drew with black in the final round, Firouzja caught up with them by beating Ivan Saric, also with black.
Firouzja, who like Caruana played in Bucharest and Zagreb but not in Warsaw, stands in sole second place in the Grand Chess Tour standings. The series will be decided next month, with the Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz and the Sinquefield Cup set to take place back to back from 10 August until 31 August.
Alireza Firouzja | Photo: Lennart Ootes
| Vachier Lagrave, Maxime2732 | 1–0 | Aronian, Levon2729 | |||||||||||||||||||||
 | SuperUnited Croatia Blitz 2024 Zagreb14.07.2024[CC] | | |||||||||||||||||||||
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave sharing a laugh with long-time colleague and elite rival Ian Nepomniachtchi | Photo: Lennart Ootes
