D Gukesh faces mounting criticism from the chess elite ahead of his historic title defence

World Chess champion D Gukesh is under a lot of pressure as he gears up to defend his title from a rising contender, Javokhir Sindarov. After beating Ding Liren in 2024, the Indian has gone through a series of losses. Recently, Ian Nepomniachtchi, a grandmaster from Russia, expressed some of his thoughts about the situation. He said that almost any player on the list can beat Gukesh at the moment. Ian added that there is a strange difference in ratings between Gukesh’s classical, rapid and blitz games.

World champion D Gukesh addresses his recent slump and grandmaster criticism ahead of Norway Chess

The upcoming match will be the most youthful world championship, with both competitors having 20 years of age. Champions such as Magnus Carlsen and Garry Kasparov have made their bets and supported the challenger from Uzbekistan. Still, Fabiano Caruana stated that they should not underestimate the reigning champion because of his amazing pressure skills in major tournaments.

Instead of trying to divert attention from this negativity, Gukesh’s response shows exceptional maturity. The young player, who is about to turn 20 on May 29, confessed quite clearly that his play during the past 18 months was very far from perfect. "They have the right to speak up and I have the right to give my best," he said. Having suffered several poor results in Tata Steel, Prague and Poland tournaments, he has limited himself to playing Norway Chess and preparing for the upcoming Chess Olympiad.

For him, Norway Chess will be an important proving ground to test his current level of play. At the same time, Ian praised other Indian players who helped create a new world chess boom. According to him, Erigaisi was highly practical in open tournaments while Praggnanandhaa showed wonderful balance regardless of his busy schedule.

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