Carlsen Offers Measured Praise for World Champion Gukesh, Cites Need for Further Impression

Magnus Carlsen, the world's top-ranked chess player, has offered a candid assessment of reigning world champion D. Gukesh, following the first day of the SuperUnited Croatia Rapid & Blitz 2025 tournament.

Magnus Carlsen and D. Gukesh during a Norway Chess game.

Gukesh, at just 19 years old, is currently tied for the lead with Carlsen, Wesley So, and Jan-Krzysztof Duda.

In an interview, Carlsen praised R. Praggnanandhaa and acknowledged Gukesh's progress but suggested he remains unconvinced by the young Indian talent so far.

"Pragg has done very, very well for a while now," Carlsen stated. "I mean, he's won three classical super tournaments this year, which is extremely impressive. The other kids, they have their ups and downs."

He also commented on Alireza Firouzja's performance, saying, "Normally, you would think in such a format, Alireza would be very strong. He probably has not had the best start, but I'm sure he'll be there."

Regarding Gukesh, Carlsen added, "Gukesh is showing signs of improvement as well. It's very hard to say who's going to do well. But in terms of impressing me, well, that remains to be seen."

Carlsen himself admitted to feeling "rusty" after the first round. "I feel like it was a little bit shaky today, especially in time trouble. Of course, in the first game, nothing really happened. In the second, I managed to eke out a win somehow against Wesley. Didn't really feel that I had much at all. But then all of a sudden, I think he missed a little trick when I was able to keep the bishops on the board. And I think he got quite rattled after that."

He concluded, "In the last game, I didn't particularly mind the draw. But I also wanted to try. And I felt like I managed to get chances there out of nothing. I don't know if I had serious winning chances. Towards the end, I was really flirting with a loss as well. But yeah, overall, the score is all right. I'll take that. But it feels a bit rusty."