Paris, World champion D Gukesh is crumbling under the weight of expectations and needs to shut out the noise to regain his form ahead of his title defence, said American Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura, who also revealed that the 2028 Chess Olympiad could potentially be his last tournament featuring “true classical” chess.
Result
“I don’t know what Gukesh can do differently. Gukesh has faced a slump since his historic 2024 World Championship win, dropping down in ratings after finishing last at both Norway Chess and a recent event in Chennai, alongside low finishes at the Tata Steel Chess and Prague Masters. I know what he should have done differently, which is to basically be willing to take draws in a lot of games instead of trying to play for the win,” Nakamura said to a PTI query on Wednesday.
Individual and team impact
It’s like 75-25 in favour of Sindarov… if the match happens today, Sindarov is playing better. But as I said, 75-25 doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going to win every time. “There was only one Indian player from the time I was probably like 6-7 years old when I started until I was about 30 or around there.
“I mean, he’s one of the world champions. And you’re not the best player. And everyone’s comparing you to probably the greatest player of all time. And it’s very difficult mentally. “Even though I think, Gukesh is the big underdog in the match, I don’t think it’s that unlikely that he wins the match. So Sindarov is likely to win. “But I think it’s going to be a close match. I don’t think it’s going to be some blowout like a lot of people think it will be. So, I mean, it’s a big difference when you have a lot of them competing. Make no mistake, I still think Vishy is the best Indian player ever. Nakamura expects Gukesh, Arjun and Praggnanandhaa to remain prominent figures in the world championship race.
