Magnus Carlsen during his match at the Tata Steel Chess India Rapid & Blitz on Friday in Kolkata. (Express Photo by Partha Paul)
Five-time world champion Magnus Carlsen was unequivocal when asked who he thought was the favourite going into the upcoming World Chess Championship in Singapore between current world champion Ding Liren and the 18-year-old challenger from India, D Gukesh.
“Based on the current form, Gukesh is a significant favorite. But based on peak chess ability, I think it’s quite even. So if Ding can regain that form, he has a good chance. Also, Gukesh was quite vulnerable in the last tournament that he played. But all that aside, if I was to make a prediction at this point, I’d go with the guy who’s played by far the best chess of these two players over the last couple of years, which is Gukesh,” Carlsen said at a press conference on Friday after winning the rapid portion of the Tata Steel Chess India tournament.
Over the past few months, Gukesh has been in stellar form heading into the world championship ever since he won the ultra-competitive Candidates tournament in Toronto. He’s since helped India win the Chess Olympiad in Budapest with an individual gold on board 1.
Carlsen did, however, throw in a word of caution for the Indian youngster.
“Each World Championship has its own rhythm. It’s something he hasn’t experienced before, so I think he might take some time getting into it. Ding probably justifiably feels that he’s the underdog, so maybe he doesn’t have that much to lose. Overall, it’s not a foregone conclusion. I think that some people think that this match is almost a formality at this point, but I think there is more than a 50% chance that this match is quite even,” Carlsen said.
The first game of the 14-match World Chess Championship will be played in 10 days in Singapore’s Resort World Sentosa.
