World number one Magnus Carlsen has praised D Gukesh for seizing his opportunity to become the youngest-ever world chess champion. However, he has ruled out the idea of a title match with the Indian teenager, which Gukesh had hoped for.
Magnus Carlsen’s Praise for D Gukesh’s Achievement
The 18-year-old Gukesh defeated reigning champion Ding Liren in the final round on Thursday to become only the second Indian, after Viswanathan Anand, to win the prestigious title.
“It’s an incredible achievement (by Gukesh), first he was down in the FIDE circuit, won the tournament in Chennai on demand, then he had an amazing performance in the Candidates tournament,” said Carlsen on a popular recap stream, analysing the match.
Carlsen mentioned that he was somewhat surprised by how the match played out, as many of the games ended in a draw.
“This was something that was bit unexpected, a lot of us thought that Gukesh was a favourite to win the match but this was a game that never really took off, Gukesh was doing a great job of keeping the position alive and suddenly it was all over,” Carlsen said.
“It’s a really good thing for him, he has the title now for two years, winning this championship is extremely motivating so there is a very good chance that he is going to go for a great run of results now and probably become the number two player now and may be number one in the not so distant future,” he noted.
The emotional moment that 18-year-old Gukesh Dommaraju became the 18th world chess champion 🥲🏆 pic.twitter.com/jRIZrYeyCF
— Chess.com (@chesscom) December 12, 2024
Gukesh Wants To Face Carlsen in a Future Championship
In the press conference after the event, Gukesh said he would love to face Carlsen in a match someday. Carlsen, the Norwegian star, chose not to defend his title in 2023 after winning the World Championship in 2013.
“Winning World Chess Championship does not mean I am the best player, obviously that is Magnus Carlsen. I want to reach the level Magnus has achieved,” Gukesh said.
“Obviously playing against Magnus in the world championship would be amazing, it would be the toughest challenge there is in chess. It is up to Magnus, but I would love to test myself against the best player in the world.”
But Carlsen ruled that out. “I am not part of this circus anymore,” said Carlsen in a general reference to world title clashes.
Furthermore, Carlsen also praised Gukesh‘s team, saying they did a great job.
“It is becoming progressively harder (to play mainstream openings) all main lines are analysed so they had to jump a bit,” Carlsen said of the opening choices made by Gukesh.
“I have generally kept it fairly risk-free with the white pieces, I have tried not to let things go out of control,” he added.
A Historic Moment for Indian Chess
Carlsen, who has been the best player in the world for the past ten years criticized Liren’s decisions in the final game.
“There are lot of things that Ding could have done differently, Gukesh really made most of his chances,” he said.
“It’s a massive moment for India, it’s a combination of work that is being done there. This is not over.
“There are many more success stories to come, it was really heartwarming to see what it means to Gukesh, it was a very beautiful moment,” Carlsen summed it up.
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