Alireza Firouzja’s win in Zagreb underlined both his talent and the frustration that has followed much of his top-level career. The Iran-born French grandmaster took the Croatia Super Rapid and Blitz title after a strong start, a late stumble, and an Armageddon tie-break that finally settled the event.
Firouzja had looked in control going into the last day, but he managed only 2/7 in the closing rounds before recovering when it mattered most. The result adds another major success, yet it also sits beside a pattern of near-misses in the Candidates that has kept him short of the very biggest prizes.
Firouzja’s unfinished chase for the Candidates
His recent record in qualification events has been mixed. In 2022, he hurt his chances by playing blitz into the early hours, and in 2024 he finished seventh out of eight.
He made another major push for the 2025 Grand Swiss in Samarkand, working with the late Daniel Naroditsky, but finished third when only two places were available. At the victory ceremony, the bronze-medal podium was left empty, a small but telling sign of how close he came without qualifying.
The new Norway-organised Total World Championship gives him a fresh route back into contention. The planned format includes fast classical, rapid and blitz sections, with a pilot event set for October 2026 before a full tour in 2027.
| Event | Firouzja Result | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Croatia Super Rapid and Blitz, Zagreb | Won | Recovered after a poor final day and won an Armageddon tie-break |
| 2024 Candidates | 7th of 8 | Failed to mount a serious challenge |
| 2025 Grand Swiss, Samarkand | 3rd | Needed a top-two finish to qualify |
Sindarov moves ahead in the next generation race
Javokhir Sindarov has added to the sense that the next wave of elite players is already reshaping the pecking order. He won both the rapid and blitz events at the Naroditsky Memorial in Charlotte over the Independence Day weekend, reinforcing his standing as a major rival in the race for generational supremacy.
Carlsen’s 15-year run at No 1
Magnus Carlsen also reached a major marker last week when he completed an unbroken 15 years as world No 1 in Fide’s official monthly ratings. Even after a disappointing fourth-place finish from six players in Oslo, he still leads Fabiano Caruana and Hikaru Nakamura by more than 30 rating points.
That long run has not been free of danger, but it has been remarkably durable. The Guardian noted that Carlsen’s 2018 world title match against Caruana was tied 6-6 before the Norwegian won on speed tie-breaks, even though Caruana had chances, including a forced mate on the board in game six that was far from easy to spot.
Carlsen also came close to pushing his rating beyond Garry Kasparov’s peak of 2851, trying three times to break through the 2900 barrier. His strongest stretch came in the first half of 2019, when several elegant wins, including one over Alexander Grischuk, highlighted the height of his form.
Kasparov’s benchmark still matters
Kasparov’s own claim to greatness remains central to the debate. He was world No 1 continuously from 1986 to 2006, and in 1996 he briefly shared the top rating with Vladimir Kramnik, who later beat him in London in 2000 to become world champion.
The comparison between the two eras is complicated by the quality of opposition. Kasparov fought five title matches against Anatoly Karpov, often when Karpov was at or near his best, while Carlsen’s world title matches have more often lacked that same peak-versus-peak intensity.
That is why the argument over the greatest player of all time is unlikely to end soon. Carlsen could still equal Kasparov’s 20 years at the top in 2031, but newer challengers are expected to keep the debate alive well before then.
Elsewhere in the chess world, Jimmy Adams, former editor of Chess magazine and author of respected biographies of Johannes Zukertort, Mikhail Chigorin, Gyula Breyer, Paul Keres, Salo Flohr and Isaac Boleslavsky, has died aged 79. ChessFest in Trafalgar Square will also take place on Sunday 12 July, running from noon to 7pm and offering free entry for players of all levels.
For the final position in the puzzle numbered 4032, the winning line is 1 Rbd1 Qc3 2 e6! fxe6 3 Qxe6+ Kh8 4 Qf7! Rf4 5 Qxf4!, which leaves White winning.
