‘Not trying to undermine Gukesh’: Kasparov insists World Championship history ended with world No 1 Carlsen

Gukesh Dommaraju has been under scrutiny like never before ever since he became the youngest world champion in the history of chess a little over a year ago. And while the teen Grandmaster had an extraordinary run in 2024 in which he also became the youngest champion in Candidates history and starred in India’s historic Chess Olympiad campaign, Gukesh’s form has taken a major hit over the course of the last one year.

His loss of form has only served to reinforce the belief that while Gukesh may have won the Fide World Championship fair and square by defeating Chinese GM Ding Liren in Singapore in December 2024, he isn’t the world champion in the true sense. Russian legend Garry Kasparov is among those who believe that it will remain the case till the time world No 1 Magnus Carlsen’s domination of the sport remains unchallenged.

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‘World champion must be the best player in the world’

In a clip recently shared by the Saint Louis Chess Club – which hosts a number of high-profile tournaments including the Sinquefield Cup – on Thursday, six-time world champion and former world No 1 Kasparov reiterated the fact that the “history of the Classical World Championship was over with Magnus”.

“With all due respect, I don’t think it matters,” Kasparov said when asked who Gukesh’s next challenger would be.

“Not trying to undermine Gukesh or Ding, but for me, the history of the Classical World Championship was over with Magnus, because I’m a real old-fashioned traditional. For me, the world champion must be the best player in the world.

“It’s a title. There’s no attempt to undermine what Gukesh did at such a young age. And I’m not here just talking about envy because his (World Championship triumph) was younger than me,” the 62-year-old added in the clip, which had been taken on the sidelines of the ‘Clutch Chess: The Legends’ event in October.

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It’s worth noting, however, that Gukesh wouldn’t disagree with Kasparov’s statement; he had admitted himself after his 7.5-6.5 triumph over Ding in Singapore that he may have won the World Championship, but Carlsen was still the undisputed No 1, and his next aim would be to defeat the world’s best.

The 19-year-old ended up fulfilling that dream of his by defeating the Norwegian chess icon for the first time ever during the Norway Chess in Stavanger last year. One victory would quickly lead to another with the Indian GM beating Carlsen in their next meeting – this time at SuperUnited Rapid and Blitz Croatia, part of the Grand Chess Tour.