 "<div>Not the strongest player in the world: Garry Kasparov downplays Gukesh’s World Championship win</div>")
Garry Kasparov has questioned the value of D Gukesh’s World Championship title, saying the “era of classical world champions” ended with Magnus Carlsen’s exit in 2023. The Indian teenager became the youngest world champion in December 2024 after dethroning Ding Liren.
Garry Kasparov, one of the greatest chess players in history, has shared his strong views on the current state of world chess. Speaking during the live broadcast of the 2025 Sinquefield Cup, the former world champion said that the “era of classical world champions” ended when Magnus Carlsen gave up his crown in 2023.
Kasparov was asked about India’s young star Gukesh Dommaraju, who became the youngest world champion at just 18 years old last year. He broke Kasparov’s record. While Kasparov said that Gukesh’s win was “fair and square,” he added that the teenager still has to prove that he is truly the best player in the world.
“Gukesh won fair and square but you can hardly call him the strongest player in the world. I don’t want to sound offensive but I think Magnus ended the era of classical world champions. Gukesh’s world championship title is very different. It’s still clear that Magnus is the strongest and Gukesh is yet to prove his superiority over others. Even players of his age category. The round 1 game against Praggnanandhaa at the Sinquefield Cup was very unimpressive. The rules are the rules and the games are the games,” Kasparov said.
Kasparov’s remarks came after Gukesh drew his game with Polish GM Jan-Krzysztof Duda at Sinquefield Cup. Gukesh had earlier lost a game against compatriot R Praggnanandhaa in the same competition. The Russian legend later apologised for the harsh comments, but did not change his stance.
“I’m sure there will be more excitement in the Candidates and the next world championship match. But I apologise. I have to apologise time and again. This is not exactly the title that I had or Karpov had or Fischer had or Magnus had,” Kasparov added.
Carlsen refused to defend his World Championship title after winning it five consecutive times. The 2023 World Championship match was then played between Ian Nepomniachtchi and Ding Liren, which Ding won to become the 17th world champion. Gukesh then took the crown in December 2024.
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