 "D Gukesh defeated Magnus Carlsen for the second time in as many meetings on Day 2 of the SuperUnited Rapid and Blitz event in Zagreb, Croatia. Image credit: Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour")
Russian chess legend Garry Kasparov questioned Magnus Carlsen’s dominance in the sport after the latter suffered a second defeat against D Gukesh in as many meetings, albeit in different tournaments and formats. After suffering a stunning loss at the hands of the reigning world champion in last month’s Norway Chess, Carlsen ended up on the wrong side of the result on the second day of the SuperUnited Rapid and Blitz Croatia in Zagreb.
And their latest meeting wasn’t anything like last month’s showdown in Stavanger, where Carlsen was in a dominant position at one stage and staring at a second consecutive victory over the 19-year-old, the world.
Also Read | ‘I got soundly punished’: Carlsen praises Gukesh after suffering another defeat, admits struggling for form
The two players were on fairly level terms until Carlsen committed a blunder in his 35th move, and Gukesh was quick to pounce on the opening and force his hallowed opponent to resign in 49 moves and move to the sole lead.
‘It’s a convincing loss’: Kasparov
Kasparov, who had been the youngest Classical world champion for nearly four decades until his record was broken by Gukesh, felt that the time had finally arrived for Carlsen’s domination to be question. Especially with Gukesh triumphing over him in Rapid chess – a format he hasn’t achieved as much success in as Classical chess.
“Now we can question Magnus’ domination. This is not just his second loss to Gukesh, it’s a convincing loss. It’s not a miracle or that Gukesh benefited from terrible mistakes. It was a real fight. And Magnus lost,” former world champion and No 1 Kasparov said while on commentary during the official broadcast.
The Russian chess legend also criticised Carlsen’s mindset while hailing Gukesh’s resilience.
“His resilience reminds me of computers. With computers, if you lose concentration, you’re done. Gukesh is the kind of player you have to beat multiple times… Carlsen came here looking for revenge after Norway Chess, and that’s never a good mindset,” the 62-year-old added.
What made Gukesh’s victory over Carlsen even sweeter was the fact that it wasn’t just his second consecutive victory against an individual counted among the greatest in chess history. It also was a perfect response to someone who had described him as a “weaker player” before the start of the tournament.
Gukesh had finished in the joint lead at the end of Day 1 at Zagreb before becoming the sole leader after defeating Fabiano Caruana and Carlsen the following day.