D Gukesh clinched the rapid title at the SuperUnited Rapid & Blitz tournament in Zagreb, Croatia, after an impressive performance that included defeating World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen. Following his victory, Gukesh shared a humorous story about a promised shoutout to his cousin who had predicted his win over Carlsen.After forgetting to mention his cousin in the post-match interview following his victory on Thursday against Carlsen, Gukesh made up for it later. “It is a bit funny. Before I came into this tournament, one of my cousins told me that I was going to beat Magnus. So we made a deal that if I do beat Magnus, I will give him a shoutout in my interview. I completely forgot yesterday, and he was quite upset about that,” Gukesh said with a laugh.The young grandmaster showed remarkable resilience in the tournament. After losing his opening game to Jan-Krzysztof Duda, he bounced back strongly with five straight wins. His victory over Carlsen in Round 4 was a key moment that put him in the driver’s seat.Gukesh finished the rapid section on a high note, defeating Wesley So of the United States in the final round. He won the game in 36 moves by capitalising on a tactical mistake. His overall performance included six wins, two draws, and just one loss.Looking ahead to the blitz format, Gukesh remains focused on maintaining his strong form. “I think so far I have been playing good chess, so strategy will be to play good chess with good time management and I hope that everything will work out,” he explained.
