(LEFT) Gukesh plays at the Bucharest event of the Grand Chess Tour; (RIGHT) Cristian Chirila talks to Garry Kasparov. (PHOTOs: Lennart Ootes via Grand Chess Tour)
Garry Kasparov, former world champion and one of the greatest players in history, has said that India’s Gukesh Dommaraju was a ‘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 last year in December. In doing so, he smashed the record for the youngest world champion previously held by Kasparov by four years. But the former Russian chess wizard pointed out that the situations of both of them becoming world champions was drastically different.
Magnus Carlsen and Gukesh will battle for the first time in the classical chess format after Gukesh’s coronation as world champion at the Norway Chess tournament at the end of May.
“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.
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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 two games. 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. On Tuesday, he lost to Alireza Firoujza after an uncharacteristic blunder.
After the 1984 World Championship had to be called off because it had stretched on for almost half a year with no clear winner, Kasparov had overcome Anatoly Karpov in 1985 at the age of 22 to become the youngest world champion. That record had stood until Gukesh arrived on the scene.
Kasparov 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.”
READ MORE | Blunder, zugzwang, resignation: How one move from Gukesh forced him to lose from a drawn position vs Alireza Firoujza
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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.”
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It must be pointed out that Carlsen walked away from defending his world championship crown in 2023, which led Liren to defeat Ian Nepomniachtchi and become the 17th world champion of the sport. Gukesh then deposed Ding the very next year to claim the title.
