Why is Magnus Carlsen not competing at SuperUnited Rapid and Blitz 2024?
World No.1 chess Grandmaster Magnus Carlsen decided not to take part in the ongoing SuperUnited Rapid and Blitz tournament in Zagreb, Croatia, as his mother, Sigrun Oen, passed away after suffering a long illness. The funeral will take place on July 17.
The third stage of the Grand Chess Tour 2024 commenced on Wednesday, July 10, with the Rapid competition.
After the end of the Superbet Chess Classic Romania in Bucharest, the Grand Chess Tour 2024 continues with the SuperUnited Rapid and Blitz tournament in Croatia, which is the third and last stop in Europe.
The competition is being conducted along the familiar lines of a combined rapid and blitz tournament, with the rapid games counting double, as the blitz competition will have twice as many games as the rapid.
In the SuperUnited Rapid and Blitz competition, a total of nine rounds will be played in Rapid, and 18 rounds will be played in Blitz.
In the SuperUnited Rapid and Blitz competition, a total of seven regular Grand Chess Tour players and three players who were invited by wildcard will take the field.
Along with the Indian Grandmaster Vidit Gujrathi and Ivan Saric, who competed for the host country, Magnus Carlsen was also expected to take part in the competition. However, he had decided to pull out at the last minute. Levon Aronian replaced him in the campaign.
Magnus Carlsen won Superbet Rapid & Blitz Poland in May 2024
After winning the Superbet Rapid & Blitz Poland in May 2024, Magnus Carlsen decided not to compete in the second Grand Chess Tour competition, Superbet Chess Classic Romania, which was eventually won by Fabiano Caruana in July 2024.
The SuperUnited rapid chess tournament in Zagreb started off on July 10. Three rounds of rapid chess were played each day on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. The double-round blitz tournament follows on Saturday and Sunday.
Fabiano Caruana accumulated three straight wins on the final day of rapid and extended his lead over Wesley So to three points, entering the blitz segment of the SuperUnited Rapid & Blitz Croatia.
Wesley So, with 12 points, and Levon Aronian, with 11 points, settled for the second and third ranks, respectively. On the other hand, Gukesh D (9) and Vidit Gujrathi (4) had a poor outing as they were positioned at seventh and ninth positions, respectively.