Carlsen Offers Subdued Praise for World Champion Gukesh After Tournament Start

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 face off at Norway Chess 2025

Gukesh, the 19-year-old chess prodigy, is currently tied for the lead with Carlsen, Wesley So, and Jan-Krzysztof Duda.

In an interview with Take Take Take, Carlsen lauded R. Praggnanandhaa while stating that Gukesh has improved, but that he's not yet impressed by the young Indian players.

Carlsen stated, "Pragg has done very, very well for a while now." He further elaborated, "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: "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 acknowledged his progress: "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 admitted to feeling "a bit rusty" after Round 1. "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 with his thoughts on the final game: "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."