GM Alireza Firouzja took the sole lead after day one of the 2026 Super Rapid & Blitz Croatia with a score of 5/6. He defeated GMs Ivan Saric and Bogdan-Daniel Deac while shrugging off an earlier bullet chess loss.
Firouzja sits one point ahead of GMs Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu, Anish Giri, Vincent Keymer and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. The 10-player field is competing in Zagreb at the Westin Hotel through July 5.
Day one featured several notable results. Vachier-Lagrave defeated World Champion Gukesh Dommaraju in the opening round. Keymer recovered from an early loss to beat both GM Jorden van Foreest and GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov.
The event is the third stop on the 2026 Grand Chess Tour. Magnus Carlsen is absent this year. Day two rapid play begins Thursday at 9 a.m. ET.