D Gukesh Sits Fifth After Ninth Round In Super Rapid And Blitz Tournament In Warsaw
D Gukesh recovers from early losses to defeat Duda and stay fifth at halfway stage of Warsaw blitz event.
World Champion D. Gukesh is placed fifth at the halfway stage of the blitz segment in the Super Rapid and Blitz tournament in Warsaw, after a mixed performance on the third day of competition. The Indian Grandmaster, who had earlier accumulated nine points from the rapid section, added four more points from the opening nine blitz rounds to reach a total of 13 points out of 27.
Gukesh began the blitz day on a difficult note, suffering successive defeats against Poland’s Radosław Wojtaszek and France’s Alireza Firouzja, followed by further losses to American Grandmaster Fabiano Caruana and Uzbekistan’s Javokhir Sindarov. However, he managed to regain momentum later in the day with a strong victory over tournament leader Hans Niemann.
The highlight of Gukesh’s performance came in the ninth round of the blitz section, where he delivered a commanding win against Poland’s Jan-Krzysztof Duda. The result helped stabilise his position after a turbulent start to the blitz rounds and kept him within striking distance of the leading pack as the tournament enters its decisive phase.
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At the top of the standings, Niemann continues to lead despite a modest blitz showing on the day, moving to 16.5 points after scoring 3.5 out of 9 in the blitz rounds. He holds a narrow half-point advantage over fellow American Grandmaster Wesley So, while Fabiano Caruana and Slovenia’s Vladimir Fedoseev are tied in third place with 15 points each.
The French duo of Alireza Firouzja and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave are jointly placed sixth with 12.5 points, alongside Duda, while Sindarov sits ninth with 12 points. Radosław Wojtaszek completes the ten-player field with 10 points. With nine blitz rounds still remaining, the competition remains tightly contested. Gukesh, who has shown flashes of resilience despite inconsistency in the blitz format, will look to build on his late recovery as the tournament moves into its final stages. His win against Niemann and Duda is expected to boost confidence as he aims to climb further up the leaderboard in the remaining rounds.
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