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Magnus Carlsen will face Gukesh D at the Grand Chess Tour, saying that he will treat the game as one against a weaker opponent.
D Gukesh was subjected to racist comments after the 19-year-old beat five-time chess champion Magnus Carlsen. (X Screengrab)
World No.1 Magnus Carlsen and reigning world champion Gukesh D are set to face each other again, around a month after their now-famous encounter at Norway Chess, in the third leg of the Grand Chess Tour in Zagreb, Croatia.
The rapid and blitz tournament, which began on Wednesday, features a star-studded 10-player field, including three of the world’s top five players.
Carlsen and Gukesh will meet three times during the event, between July 3 and 6 – once in rapid and twice in blitz. On July 3, Gukesh will sit across from Carlsen for the first time since his victory in Round 6 of Norway Chess. This win went viral on social media due to Carlsen’s visibly anguished reaction, where he thumped the table and sent the pieces scattering following a dramatic blunder and loss from a winning position. It was also the first time Carlsen had lost to the Indian teenager in a classical game.
“I think Gukesh played quite well here last time, but it remains to be proven that he’s one of the best players in this format,” Carlsen was uoted as saying.
“We have a very, very strong field… Gukesh hasn’t done anything to indicate that he’s going to do well in such a tournament. I hope, for his sake, that he can do better. But playing him in this tournament, I will approach it as if I’m playing one of the presumably weaker players (in the tournament),” he added.
Asked to name the tournament’s top contenders, Carlsen called Alireza Firouzja a clear ‘second favourite’: “If I’m in good shape, it will take something special to beat me.”
What Garry Kasparov said About Magnus vs Gukesh?
On the eve of the tournament, former world champion Garry Kasparov offered Gukesh a few words of advice: “The moment you stop improving, actually, the moment you stop thinking about improving – it’s over. I stayed on top for so long because I knew that the main opponent is your own excellence… The moment you rest, you know it won’t take long to decline.”
Reflecting on the months since his title win, Gukesh spoke about taking time to adjust to the weight of expectations: “Now I’ve kind of settled into the new life… I am back to focusing on working hard and being my best self in every tournament.”
Ritayan Basu, Senior Sub-Editor, Sports at News18.com. Has been covering domestic and and international football for nearly a decade. Has played and covered badminton. Ocassionally writes on cricket content, ha…Read More
Ritayan Basu, Senior Sub-Editor, Sports at News18.com. Has been covering domestic and and international football for nearly a decade. Has played and covered badminton. Ocassionally writes on cricket content, ha… Read More
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