Criticism justified, I haven’t performed well: Gukesh
Reigning world champion D Gukesh is not ruffled by the barrage of criticism that has come his way in the past 18 months, as the young Indian Grandmaster believes all of it is justified, given his underwhelming form.
Gukesh, who will turn 20 on May 29, is here to compete in the Norway Chess Tournament and opens his campaign against Germany’s Vincent Keymer on Monday. He would be eager to turn things around and log some strong results in the lead-up to his world title defence against challenger Javokhir Sindarov later this year.
“Most of it (critical comments made by former greats) I don’t see, but there are some that I have heard and I think it’s fair,” said Gukesh on Sunday.
“I have not been performing well in the last one-and-a-half years, and I think I would say that my performances have been way below expectations. They (critics) have the right to say what they feel and I have the right to do my best,” added the reticent teenager while seated alongside one of his critics, former world champion Magnus Carlsen.
The world number one Carlsen is chasing a record-extending eighth Norway Chess title on home soil.
This year, Gukesh finished 10th at the Tata Steel Chess Tournament, followed it up with a ninth-place finish at the Prague International Chess Festival, and most recently finished sixth at the Superbet Rapid & Blitz Poland on the Grand Chess Tour. He pulled out of all classical events on the Grand Chess Tour and, for now, will play only in Norway Chess and the Chess Olympiad before his World Championship title clash against Sindarov.
Due to his prolonged poor form, Gukesh’s world title win in 2024 against China’s Ding Liren has been underplayed by the likes of Russian GM Ian Nepomniachtchi, who feels the Indian just “plays badly” at times.
Former world champion Anatoly Karpov has gone to the extent of saying that Gukesh won the coveted crown “by accident”. Carlsen has also repeatedly questioned the quality of chess played during the 2024 title clash in Singapore.
Gukesh’s challenger for the crown, Sindarov, is also in Oslo and will no doubt be keen to closely study the Indian’s game ahead of their much-anticipated showdown later this year.
“Yes, Norway Chess and the Olympiad are the two tournaments I will be playing, there are more which I am considering,” said Gukesh, without elaborating his plans.
Gukesh said he would be happy to play the World Championship match anywhere in the world, but acknowledged that it would be special if it was to be held in India, even though the pressure of defending the title at home would be immense.
“Anywhere would be nice... In India there’s always a lot of pressure. The World Championships will attract a lot of (attention). If it’s in India it will be supercool and I will be very happy,” he added.
Gukesh agreed that winning the World Championship for the first time and defending it require completely different mindsets but conceded that retaining the title is tougher than winning it.
“Surely there are different mindsets going into winning both the matches and many people have said that defending a title is more difficult than actually winning it. So for sure, there is a lot of expectation and pressure of not wanting to lose.
“But at the end of the day the basic thing is to go there and play good chess. Yeah, I’ll try my best to win,” he said.
Gukesh was seated across the board from Carlsen at Norway Chess 2025 when the Norwegian great, frustrated after losing to the Indian, banged the table in exasperation -- a moment that quickly went viral and was watched by millions around the world.
Asked whether he would like to see Carlsen recreate the famous outburst this year’ too, Gukesh said the incident was terrific for the sport as it generated enormous publicity and pushed chess further into the global spotlight.
“My job is to play chess. That (winning or losing) is not in my control. But that moment in general I guess speaks about...chess players generally don’t show a lot of emotions but when it did happen, a lot of people got attracted to chess,” he concluded.
