Chess icon Magnus Carlsen provided a frank assessment of D Gukesh, the young Indian Grandmaster. After losing to Gukesh during the Norway Chess tournament, Carlsen shared his perspective on Gukesh’s potential for long-term dominance. While acknowledging Gukesh’s talent, Carlsen expressed that the young player is not yet in a position to establish a prolonged era of dominance in the chess world.
During an interview with Tania Sachdev, Carlsen addressed the question of who might succeed him as the top player. He stated that currently, there is no one clearly positioned to achieve that level of dominance. He noted that Gukesh, though promising, isn’t significantly ahead of his contemporaries. Carlsen compared Gukesh’s position to his own in the years 2008-2009, suggesting that the Indian player requires the same combination of positional play and fighting spirit to achieve sustained success.
Carlsen pointed out that aspiring chess players at Gukesh’s level are not expected to have mastered all aspects of the game. He also observed that other young chess players have obvious weaknesses, which is typical for players of their age. Carlsen believes that the likelihood of any of them emerging as the undisputed number one is not high. He emphasized that exceptional chess talents are ‘once-in-a-generation’ for a reason, alluding to the high standards required to reach the top.
In the end, although Gukesh defeated Carlsen in the tournament, he did not win the overall event, with Fabiano Caruana taking the victory and Carlsen securing first place overall. Carlsen, who is widely considered one of the greatest chess players of all time, secured 16 points overall at the tournament, showcasing his enduring skill.