Latest news with #WorldC'ship
Hindustan Times
4 days ago
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
D Gukesh's grandfather's reaction to Carlsen win will melt your hearts, defends Norwegian's table slamming reaction
D Gukesh left Magnus Carlsen shellshocked on Sunday in their Round 6 face-off as the 18-year-old GM sealed a surprising win against the World No. 1 at Norway Chess 2025. The Indian GM was in a losing position, but a massive blunder by Carlsen saw him take advantage in the end-game and clinch his maiden classical win against the Norwegian. Speaking after Gukesh's win, his grandfather Shankar Rajesh had an ecstatic response to the result. Speaking to ANI, he said, 'One of the major achievements which he hadn't achieved before, he achieved now. Gukesh has now beaten Magnus Carlsen as well. There is no pressure on him now.' The match lasted 62 moves and over fours hours, and Carlsen lost to the reigning World Champion. Gukesh's fans were also pleased that he finally defeated Carlsen, who had criticised the quality of his World C'ship win vs Ding Liren. The win also saw Carlsen slam his table in frustration as he lost to Gukesh, and then also shook hands with the Indian GM. Defending Carlsen for his behaviour, Rajesh said, 'That is natural.' 'He will be relaxed and he will be practising…' He also revealed that he hasn't spoken to Gukesh yet as they don't disturb him during tournaments. Gukesh had lost to Carlsen in the opening round, so for him the win also served as sweet revenge. He is now in third spot with 8.5 points, behind Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana by only one point. Hailing Gukesh, his coach Grzegorz Gajewski said, 'It (win) just gives a huge pump of confidence (to Gukesh) because once you've done it, you know you can do it again. And that's the plan.' 'And for the tournament (Norway Chess) that's going ahead, it gives him (Gukesh) a bump. Hopefully we can break another unbreakable margin. Perfect,' he added.
Hindustan Times
05-05-2025
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
Vidit Gujrathi responds to D Gukesh criticism with ‘Norway Chess' remark in ‘FIDE vs. Freestyle Chess war' statement
Since D Gukesh defeated Ding Liren to become the youngest-ever World Chess Champion in history, there has been plenty of debate regarding the Indian GM's credibility with the title. After his victory vs Liren last year, the World C'ship received criticised from the likes of Magnus Carlsen and Vladimir Kramnik, who criticised its quality. Then Gukesh silenced his critics in January, coming second at the Tata Chess Masters in Wijk aan Zee. But then his run of good form ended at Weissenhaus, where he endured a winless streak and came eighth. Then in Paris, he failed to even qualify for the knockouts, which has led to question marks over his Freestyle Chess skills. The criticism on Gukesh has been a big debate lately, and has conincided with Freestyle Chess' ongoing tussle with FIDE, over a Chess960 World C'ship. Speaking to India Today, Indian GM Vidit Gujrathi weighed in on the issues, and felt they weren't inter-related. 'I think these two issues are quite different. As for Gukesh, it's too soon to judge. He's just achieved the world championship title, and he had a strong performance at Wijk Aan Zee. Classical chess is clearly his strength, and I think the upcoming Norway Chess in May will be a good test for him. It's well known that Gukesh hasn't paid as much attention to other formats, and it takes time for him to adjust. So, he probably still needs more time to adapt to Freestyle and other formats. But I'm sure he wants to excel in all of them because, to be a true world champion, being proficient across all formats is expected. I'm confident he's highly motivated to improve in that area,' he said. 'As for the FIDE vs. Freestyle war, I haven't delved into the details much, but any conflict that doesn't contribute to the sport's growth isn't ideal. I hope they can come to an agreement because I don't think it has to be about choosing between classical chess and Freestyle chess. Both can coexist, and if they can figure out how to make that work, it would be great for the sport,' he added. Gukesh is the current India No. 1 and will also face Magnus Carlsen in a classical chess showdown in Norway this year.
