Gukesh's coach says Ding Liren's bad form 'does not matter so much' ahead of World Chess Championship match

D Gukesh is a strong favourite heading into the World Chess Championship showdown against Ding Liren, with reigning world number one Magnus Carlsen among those backing the Indian Grandmaster to come out triumphant in Singapore later this month.

The predictions for the upcoming series of matches is based mainly on Gukesh and Liren’s recent forms; while the Indian had suffered his first loss in 38 Classical games in last month’s European Chess Club Cup, Liren has been far from his best this year and has not won a game in the Classical format since January.

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Gukesh’s coach Vishnu Prasanna however, doesn’t think Liren’s recent form will matter as much in the final, and that the Chinese GM could end up retaining his title despite himself admitting he was going into the contest as the "underdog" .

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“I’m sure Gukesh is smart enough not to take that too seriously. I don’t think Gukesh considers himself a favourite. And even if he does, you start from 0-0, I guess. Whatever has happened so far, does not have a real impact. I think only after game one, you will know who is the favourite; or, after game two or three, when the players show the cards there - how nervous they are there,” Prasanna told Sportstar on the sidelines of the Chennai Grandmasters Tournament.

“So, his (Ding’s) bad form so far does not matter so much. I’m sure he has worked on himself over the past few months. So, yes, it will be an interesting match, I’m sure. Favourite is an exaggeration. I mean right after Gukesh won the Candidates also, there was a discussion that he was the favourite. But I kind of talked against it. I would still say that it’s pretty even on that day,” he added.

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If he ends up beating Liren, who had defeated Russian GM Ian Nepomniachtchi to win the title last year, Gukesh will become only the second Indian after the legendary Viswanathan Anand to be crowned world chess champion.