Moments of Anand and Gukesh in NORWAY
Before the Norway Chess tournament, Gukesh Dommaraju—the youngest World Chess Champion ever at just 18—had a busy and challenging few months. After his big win over Ding Liren last December to become World Champion, Gukesh almost came closed to wining the prestigious Tata Steel Chess Tournament but lost narrowly in a tiebreak against Praggnanandhaa. That tournament was his first as the reigning champion.
After that, Gukesh’s form dropped a bit. He found it tough in some freestyle chess events. One difficult tournament was the first stage of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour in Weissenhaus, where he didn’t win a single game—he had 11 draws and 6 losses. He also struggled on the Paris stage.
Looking back at those performances, Vishy Anand, who is a five-time World Champion and also Gukesh’s mentor, gave him a “C-minus” grade after the Superbet Chess Classic in Bucharest. Anand also said, “Just because you’re good at defending doesn’t mean you should only rely on that.”
Then came Norway Chess. Gukesh made a strong comeback. He won two important classical games—one was his very first classical win against the world number one, Magnus Carlsen (in a match where Carlsen even punched the board out of frustration), and the other was against fellow Indian Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi. By the last round, Gukesh was just half a point behind Carlsen in the race for first place and ended up finishing third.
More about Anand and Gukesh on Norway Chess Tournament-
After Norway Chess, when asked about Gukesh’s performance, Anand raised his grade from a C to a B. He said, “Honestly, I think he deserved a D, but somehow he found many of the right moves during Norway Chess. So yes, a B is fair. Considering how he fought and the points he scored, he earned it.”
Before the tournament, Anand had said, “Gukesh played well at Wijk aan Zee. It seemed like a rebound after his big win. After such a big achievement like the World Championship, there’s always a fear of losing motivation. But his first tournament went well. For the rest of the year, he stayed calm and steady, which is normal. Everyone reacts differently. He’s still finding his way.”
Anand also shared what he might write on Gukesh’s “report card”: “Something like ‘Needs improvement’ or ‘Needs to work harder.’ He’s still very strong, but he needs to find his rhythm again.”
Gukesh Made Some Questionable Choices
In another interview, Anand talked more about Gukesh’s Norway Chess performance. He said Gukesh still has a lot to learn before he can match top players like Fabiano Caruana, Magnus Carlsen, or Hikaru Nakamura. “There’s plenty of room for improvement,” Anand said.
He explained, “Gukesh made quite a few questionable moves during Norway Chess—not because of time pressure, but from the early stages of games. Many people criticized this, and I think that’s fair to some extent.”
Talking about Gukesh’s big wins over Carlsen and Arjun, Anand added, “Yes, those wins can be debated. But honestly, how many people in the world could beat Arjun and Magnus from those kinds of positions? Sure, you can find things to criticize in his play, but remember, his opponents were under pressure too.”
He went on, “If it was Hikaru or Magnus escaping from tough spots, we’d all say, ‘Wow, they’re amazing.’ So the same should apply here. I’m a bit torn. On one hand, I don’t think we should praise him too much just because he scored 50% in the tournament. On the other hand, having strong defensive skills is good, but you shouldn’t depend on them too much. Like armies are ready to fight but don’t always have to fight, players should be prepared without relying on one thing. Still, I have to say—Gukesh showed he can be very resourceful.”
In summary, after the Norway Chess tournament, Vishy Anand gave a fair and balanced review of Gukesh’s recent games. While Gukesh had some struggles after becoming World Champion, he showed promise by scoring important wins and fighting hard. Anand believes Gukesh has great potential but still needs to improve and find the right balance in his play.
