 "D Gukesh was seen as the favourite before the World Chess Championship 2024 started. Image: FIDE")
World No. 1 chess player Magnus Carlsen feels that the 2024 World Chess Championship has reached a point where India’s D Gukesh is no longer a favourite. Gukesh, who won FIDE Candidates 2024 at the age of 17 and helped India win a historic gold medal at the 45th Olympiad, was seen as a clear favourite going into the World Chess Championship 2024 against reigning champion Ding Liren of China.
Ding, 32, had not won a classical chess game since January 2024 before the Championship began on 25 November at the Resorts World Sentosa in Singapore but stunned the world with a victory in Game 1 before losing to Gukesh in Game 3. The other seven matches so far have ended in a draw and the scores are tied at 4.5-4.5.
The 14-game series has five more games left and will resume with Game 10 on Saturday (7 December) .
“We have finally arrived at a point where Gukesh is not a favourite in this match anymore. We have a pure 50-50 match at this point,” Carlsen said on the Take Take Take app while reviewing the Game 9.
Carlsen, a five-time world champion, has been quite critical of the standard of chess played so far at the World Chess Championship 2024.
Carlsen criticises Gukesh’s gameplay
The 34-year-old Norwegian also analysed Gukesh’s game and felt that the Indian Grandmaster is not doing enough in the Championship to secure a win.
“If Gukesh had been more vigilant or more accurate, he could have put Ding under pressure here,” Carlsen said analysing a move in Game 9. “This is what he’s done wrong. When Ding has little time, he has sort of forced Ding to play well.”
“It is easier to say in hindsight, but I think Gukesh could have done a little better to keep the tension in a position that is objectively drawn, but at the moment not completely equal. I think he made it a little too easy for Ding.”