Carlsen on Gukesh: ‘I'll approach it like I'm playing one of the weaker players'
The rapid and blitz tournament, which got underway on Wednesday, features a star-studded, 10-player field – including three of the world's top five. Praggnanandhaa R – winner of the Bucharest leg – is the other Indian in contention.
Carlsen and Gukesh will meet three times during the event, between July 3 to 6 – once in rapid, and twice in blitz. On July 3, Gukesh will sit across from Carlsen for the first time since his win in Round 6 of Norway Chess – a victory that went viral on social media after the Norwegian's visibly anguished reaction – thumping the table and sending the pieces scattering – after a dramatic blunder and loss from a winning position. It was also the first time Carlsen had lost to the Indian teenager in a classical game.
'I think Gukesh played quite well here last time, but it remains to be proven that he's one of the best players in this format,' Carlsen said. 'We have a very, very strong field…Gukesh hasn't done anything to indicate that he's going to do well in such a tournament. I hope, for his sake, that he can do better. But playing him in this tournament, I will approach it as if I'm playing one of the presumably weaker players (in the tournament).'
Asked to name the tournament's top contenders, Carlsen called Alireza Firouzja a clear 'second favourite': 'If I'm in good shape, it will take something special to beat me.'
On the eve of the tournament, former world champion Garry Kasparov offered Gukesh a few words of advice: 'The moment you stop improving, actually, the moment you stop thinking about improving – it's over. I stayed on top for so long because I knew that the main opponent is your own excellence… The moment you rest, you know it won't take long to decline.'
Reflecting on the months since his title win, Gukesh spoke about taking time to adjust to the weight of expectations: 'Now I've kind of settled into the new life… I am back to focusing on working hard and being my best self in every tournament.'
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