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Magnus Carlsen reacts to Gukesh defeat: ‘Poor from me, got soundly punished… but all credit to Gukesh’

Talking about his game, Magnus Carlsen said: "Honestly, I'm not enjoying playing chess at all right now. I just... I don't feel any flow at all. When I am playing, I'm constantly hesitating. It's just really poor right now."

Magnus Carlsen reacts after resigning against Gukesh in a rapid game at the SuperUnited Rapid and Blitz Croatia 2025 in Zagreb on Thursday. (PHOTO: Grand Chess Tour via Lennart Ootes)

For the second time in two games, a game against world champion Gukesh has ended in defeat for world no 1 Magnus Carlsen. Following the headline-making defeat — and the emotional reaction to the loss by Carlsen — at Norway Chess in classical format, this time, Carlsen lost a rapid contest at the SuperUnited Rapid and Blitz Croatia 2025 in Zagreb on Thursday night.

Playing with white pieces, Carlsen was forced to resign after 49 moves. It was a game that started really positively for Carlsen and after 20 moves, he held a significant edge on the board. But then the game unraveled.

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After the defeat, Carlsen told the Take Take Take app: “Gukesh is doing incredible well (at this tournament). It’s a long way to go in the tournament but winning five games in a row is no mean feat.”

How Gukesh defeated Magnus Carlsen

READ MORE | Garry Kasparov explains why playing Gukesh is ‘like playing a computer’: Have to beat him 5 times… he has many lives in each game

Before the start of the tournament, the Norwegian had not just questioned Gukesh’s credentials in rapid and blitz. He had gone as far as saying that he would treat the games against Gukesh (one in rapid and two in blitz over the weekend) as ones against one of the “presumably weaker players in the tournament”.

As Carlsen had explained, “Gukesh hasn’t done anything to indicate that he’s going to do well (in rapid and blitz). It remains to be proven that he’s one of the best players in such a format. This is a very, very strong field that we have here. Players like Gukesh have a lot to prove. In the course of 27 rounds, things usually show. I hope for Gukesh’s sake that he can play better.”

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Magnus Carlsen takes on Gukesh at the Grand Chess Tour (PHOTO: Lennart Ootes via Grand Chess Tour)

READ MORE | Susan Polgar on Gukesh: ‘Some doubted his worthiness as World Champion… written off as a bottom feeder at Zagreb’

Talking about the game itself, a disappointed world no 1 said: “It was poor (from me) but all credit to Gukesh. He’s playing well and taking his chances. I’ve played kind of poorly the whole tournament. This time I got soundly punished. I think I had a very nice position. He took his chance to open up the position, after that it was a little bit like earlier when I got short of time and I could not handle it that well. And Gukesh found a lot of really good moves.”

The Norwegian added: “Honestly, I’m not enjoying playing chess at all right now. I just… I don’t feel any flow at all. When I am playing, I’m constantly hesitating. It’s just really poor right now.”