World Champion D Gukesh has responded to the criticism from Magnus Carlsen about his final against Ding Liren in Singapore. Gukesh secured a thrilling win against the former champion in a fiercely contested 14 games in Singapore as both men went toe-to-toe till the very end.
A blunder from Liren in the final game saw Gukesh capitalise and secure the win and become the youngest chess World Champion in history. However, the quality of the final did come under scrutiny. Former world champions Carlsen and Vladimir Kramnik were vocal in expressing their displeasure at the Gukesh vs Liren match. Kramnik called it “the end of chess as we know it,” while Carlsen would comment that it felt like a second or third round clash in an open tournament.
Gukesh was asked if he was hurt by the comments from Carlsen and said he was unfazed by it. The Indian grandmaster said that while the quality may not have been high in some of the games, World Championship matches are decided not purely by chess alone and is also dependent on who has the better character and willpower.
“Not really.”
“I get that maybe in some of the games, the quality was not high but I think the world championship matches are decided not purely by chess but by who has the better character and who has the better willpower. And I think those qualities, I did show quite well,” said Gukesh.
The Indian grandmaster admitted that he could have played at a better level but managed to strike at the critical moments and get the win.
“And the pure chess part, it was not at a very high level as I would have liked it to be because it’s a new experience for me. So the workload was different, the pressure was different.
“It’s understandable that I was a bit off but I managed to strike at the critical moments, which I am happy about,” said Gukesh.
Magnus Carlsen has ruled out chances of facing India’s D Gukesh or playing against other opponents in World Chess Championship title clashes.
