 "Gukesh's chess world title credentials questioned by former Carlsen aide: 'Challengers and champion are roughly the same'")
Norwegian chess grandmaster Jon Ludvig Hammer is the latest to question D Gukesh’s credentials, as he feels the current world champion is not as special as compared to the potential challengers. The 34-year-old Hammer feels that having a world champion who is significantly better than others lends more “legitimacy” to the title of the world champion and that is not the case with the Indian Grandmaster Gukesh.
Gukesh won the World Chess title in December 2024 after beating China's Ding Liren in a 14-game Championship . At only 18, Gukesh is also the youngest chess world champion of all time. He qualified for the World Chess Championship 2024 by winning the FIDE Candidates at the age of 17, which is another record.
Nonetheless, the teenage world champion has faced multiple criticisms since winning the Championship, including that from five-time champion Magnus Carlsen, who vacated the title in 2022 .
Chess Grandmaster questions Gukesh’s credentials
Hammer, who was the main second for Carlsen when he defeated Indian great Viswanathan Anand to become the world champion for the first time in 2013, said it was important for Gukesh to defend his title in 2026 to retain the aura around the world title.
“It would be great for chess if Gukesh actually managed to keep his title now for prolonged period of time,” the three-time Norwegian Chess Champion told Take Take Take. “We are now in a potential situation where the challengers and the champion are roughly the same strength which could mean that we see the title hopping from player to player and that I think is not a good thing.”
Hammer added that a world champion should be someone who can hold onto the trophy for a long time.
“I like it when we had the Karpov, the Kasparov, the Carlsen, where there was one guy who was just clearly better than others, because it lends the title so much legitimacy.”
Earlier, Carlsen had criticised using the Classical format to pick the world chess champion after Gukesh won the title.
Hammer’s criticism of Gukesh also comes around the time the Indian GM fared very poorly in the Paris leg of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour. He finished at the bottom, 11th in the standings.
However, it is important to note that Gukesh’s strength lies in his ability to make complex calculations over the board in Classical games. The World Chess Championship is also played in the Classical format and not Freestyle.
Also, Gukesh is only 18 and still growing as a chess player. Despite his young age, the Chennai native has already achieved a lot in his career.
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