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Hindustan Times
2 days ago
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
D Gukesh ‘really unhappy' due to Norway Chess 2025 campaign: ‘One thing about Magnus Carlsen is that…'
Despite failing to win the title at Norway Chess, D Gukesh was able to showcase his reigning world champion credentials with a shock win against Magnus Carlsen. The India No. 3 finished third in Norway, wih a total of 14.5 points, and was behind table-topper Magnus Carlsen (16) and American GM Fabiano Caruana (15.5). Norway Chess 2025: D Gukesh during his Round 6 game vs Magnus Carlsen.(JP Nadda-X) Other than beating Carlsen, Gukesh also secured wins against Hikaru Nakamura and Arjun Erigaisi. Reflecting on his Norway Chess campaign, Gukesh pointed out that there were 'some things' he was 'really unhappy about'. Speaking to ChessBase India, he said, 'Can't say happy, but there are some things to be happy about, some things to be really unhappy about.' 'One thing is starting so badly and finishing so well. In the final round, I had fair chances to win. Starting with two losses in a tournament like this, it's not great. Another thing to be happy about is, in general, when I am in good form, like everything just goes very smoothly, like in Candidates, Olympiad, when I am in my best form, things just happen naturally. 'But sometimes, in tournaments when I am not feeling at my best, it goes shakily. In this tournament, clearly I was not nowhere close to my best. You don't really control your form. It just comes and goes,' he added. After his World Championship victory, Gukesh was in good form in Wijk aan Zee, where he came second at the Tata Masters. But then form crumbled as he had a poor run in the Weissenhaus and Paris Freestyle Chess Grand Slams, and also came ninth in a Classical tournament in Bucharesh, out of ten competitors. Gukesh's Norway Chess campaign also began with a defeat to Carlsen, and then he lost to Arjun in the next round. But then he bounced back to winning ways in the third round, beating Nakamura and then also sealing an Armageddon win against Caruana. His best moment in the sixth round as he took advantage of a massive end-game blunder by Carlsen, to beat the World No. 1. It was also his maiden classical win vs Carlsen. The defeat also saw the Norwegian slam his table in anger. 'One thing about Magnus is that even when he is in bad form, he finishes second or third maximum. So one thing that I can be happy about is, even though I was playing pretty badly, to be honest, I still had chances to win. I guess the thing to be unhappy about is simply that in some games, I was just misevaluating,' said Gukesh. 'For example, in many games, pretty much all the games, there were one or two big moments. But okay. That's a chess weakness. It's nice that we could notice it, because I can just work on that. Some things to be happy about, some things to be not happy about. Overall, I think it was a nice experience,' he added.
Hindustan Times
06-06-2025
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
Magnus Carlsen predicts D Gukesh's World C'ship challenger: ‘He's still extremely good. There's no reason he couldn't'
Despite being the World No. 1, Magnus Carlsen pulled out of the previous FIDE World C'ship cycle. The Norwegian pulled out of the ongoing cycle too, and won't be attempting to challenge D Gukesh for the classical World Champion title. Carlsen is a five-time World Champion. Meanwhile, Gukesh became the youngest-ever World Champion last year, beating Ding Liren. Since becoming World Champion, Gukesh has had a mixed bag of results. He was in dominant form at the Tata Masters, but a late dip in form saw him settle for second position. Meanwhile, his Freestyle Chess run has been poor, and his ongoing Norway Chess campaign has been topsy-turvy. He began his campaign on a weak note, but then staged a comeback to beat Carlsen and Erigaisi. Carlsen had beaten him in the campaign opener, but then Gukesh managed to defeat him when they met again, and also got his first classical win against the veteran. But then Gukesh's form stuttered as he lost to Hikaru Nakamura, with the American GM winning with ease. Speaking to Take Take Take, Carlsen felt Nakamura stood a strong chance to defeat Gukesh, if he won the Candidates tournament. It is to be noted that the winner of the Candidates will challenge the World Champion. 'I think if Hikaru, Fabi, or probably Nepo for that matter win the candidates, at the moment they would be a favorite in a match against Gukesh. Hikaru's come close twice; he's still extremely good. There's no reason he couldn't,' he said. Carlsen has been highly critical of Gukesh, after the Indian GM became World Champion. Carlsen criticised the qualify of the World C'ship, especially the nature of Liren's blunder in the decisive game. Carlsen's sentiments were echoed by Vladimir Kramnik too. Gukesh won the 2024 Candidates tournament to qualify for the World Championship.
Hindustan Times
25-04-2025
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
‘D Gukesh doesn't particularly need to prove anything to anyone': Indian GM brutally silences World Championship critics
The pressure has been mounting on D Gukesh after another poor Freestyle Chess showing at the the Paris Grand Slam event, as he failed to even qualify for the knockouts. It comes after his winless run in Weissenhaus, where he managed to finish in eighth place and was at least in the knockouts. The 18-year-old is the reigning World Chess Champion after beating Ding Liren in Singapore last year, and is also the youngest in history to bag the title. But the manner of his victory over Liren saw Gukesh receive criticism from the likes of Magnus Carlsen and Vladimir Kramnik, who accused him of lacking quality. But Gukesh silenced his critics with a strong showing at the Tata Masters in Wijk aan Zee, finishing in second position. His classical chess form has been good, but his introduction to Chess960 has been a disaster. He failed to win a single match at Weissenhaus, and managed to end that streak in Paris. After his performance in Paris, Gukesh was once again put into the spotlight and this time fell victim to a former Carlsen second, Norwegian GM Jon Ludvig Hammer, who questioned his ability to hold on to the title. Rushing to Gukesh's defence, Indian GM Srinath Narayanan had a brutal reply for the likes of Hammer and Carlsen. Speaking to Indian Express, he said, 'I don't feel any particular attempt to downplay Gukesh as the world champion in general. He is universally accepted as the world champion and there is no questioning that.' 'Gukesh doesn't particularly need to prove anything to anyone. I also haven't noticed anyone mentioning that Gukesh won the World championship by luck. As for Gukesh's results in freestyle, I think 1-2 tournaments is far too early to draw any major conclusions.' Srinath also had a word of caution for Gukesh. 'Gukesh certainly has the ability to keep the crown. But it will definitely not be easy and his next challenger could very well be one of his compatriots from India or from his age group. Him and his trainers will have the best idea on what he needs to do to improve and defend his title,' he said. 'I don't think a competitive rivalry will have any negative effect on the sport. For example, in tennis for a period of time we had Federer (Roger), Nadal (Rafael) and Djokovic (Novak) all closely at the top and the rivalry was brilliant to watch,' he added. Gukesh will also face Magnus Carlsen in the upcoming Norway Chess, and it will be in the classical format. The tournament is scheduled to begin in May.
