Garry Kasparov: ‘Gukesh in different situation than me, I beat strongest player in world to become world champion'
Former world champion Garry Kasparov has said that India's Gukesh Dommaraju was the 'better player than Ding Liren' at last year's World Chess Championship, but added that world no 1 Magnus Carlsen is 'widely considered, by all metrics, as a better player' than the reigning world champion from India. At the age of 18, Gukesh became the youngest world champion in the history of the sport in Singapore in December 2024, beating the record previously held by Kasparov. But the former Russian chess wizard pointed out that the situations of both of them becoming world champions was drastically different.
'Gukesh was, in my view, a favorite (at the world chess championship) because Ding was the pale shadow of what Ding was before COVID. I remember Ding's performance in one of the events in St Louis (in 2019 against Magnus Carlsen). Absolutely phenomenal! Just absolutely phenomenal,' Kasparov told the YouTube handle of the Saint Louis Chess Club.
He went on to admit: 'I was not one who thought that Ding would be a natural challenger. Ding at his best against Magnus… that would be a match! But then COVID ruined him. Ding after COVID was just a different player, still very tenacious, just tons of resilience. Solid. Some interesting ideas even in match against Nepo (Ian Nepomniachtchi), there were a couple of moments of his brilliance, but not the same player. While Gukesh was just rising after he won the Candidates. Everything can happen in a world championship match because it's a long match. But Gukesh was always ahead. Ding fought heroically: he nearly saved the match. But I think it's a result that is justified. Gukesh was a better player.'
But when asked to compare the Indian teenager becoming youngest world champion to his own ascent to the throne as the youngest back in his time, Kasparov said: '(What Gukesh managed) is a phenomenal accomplishment. But I beat the strongest player in the world. Gukesh is in a different situation because Magnus is there. So Gukesh is official world champion, there's no doubt about it, but there's somebody else who is widely considered, by all metrics, as a better player. So he has plenty of room and plenty of time to improve. That's a challenge that I'm sure he's dealing with.'
The Indian teenager is currently competing at the Grand Chess Tour's event in Bucharest where he is yet to win a game, having drawn four games and lost one at the halfway mark. He drew against Praggnanandhaa, Nodirbek Abdusattarov, Bogdan-Daniel Deac and Jan-Krzysztof Duda, who was one of his seconds when he became the world champion. Gukesh was also stunned by Frenchman Maxime Vachier-Lagrave.
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