Magnus Carlsen Defends Gukesh: 'Unrealistic Expectations' Placed on Young World Champion
Former world chess champion Magnus Carlsen has come to the defense of current titleholder Gukesh Dommaraju, stating that the expectations placed on the teenage prodigy have been unrealistic. In a candid interview with Spain's El Mundo, Carlsen offered both praise and a sober assessment of the Indian grandmaster's career trajectory.
Carlsen's Perspective on Gukesh's Career
When asked whether Gukesh's world championship title had become a burden affecting his recent results, Carlsen responded with nuanced insight. "The expectations placed on him were unrealistic," Carlsen stated. "In part, he brought it on himself by playing in such strong tournaments, but he played incredibly in the Candidates Tournament and delivered one of the best performances in history at the Olympiad, leading India to gold."
The Norwegian grandmaster acknowledged Gukesh's world championship match against Ding Liren was more uneven, but emphasized that it's difficult to dispute his overall results. "Let's remember that he's still young, and until recently, nothing suggested he would be so consistently good," Carlsen added.
Realistic Assessment of Future Potential
Carlsen provided a balanced view of what the future might hold for the 19-year-old champion. "I think he's reached a period of stability and is learning. In certain aspects, he's become stronger, but it's not easy to demonstrate that in every game," he explained.
The former champion contextualized Gukesh's achievements within the broader chess landscape. "Another thing is that we have to be realistic about his generation because my career or Hikaru Nakamura's doesn't come around very often," Carlsen noted.
He offered two possible trajectories for the young champion: "Gukesh could become one of the best of all time, but more likely, he'll end up being an elite player who had the best run of his life and became a champion. That in itself is already great."
Gukesh's Challenging Period
Carlsen's comments come during what has been a difficult period for the world champion. After becoming the youngest world champion in history, Gukesh spent all of 2025 without a title. His closest opportunity came at the Tata Steel Chess tournament in Wijk aan Zee, where he nearly claimed victory before falling to Praggnanandhaa in tiebreaks.
The challenging results have continued into 2026, with Gukesh making a notable blunder against Nodirbek Abdusattorov in round six of a recent tournament and allowing World Cup winner Javokhir Sindarov to escape with a draw from a seemingly lost position in the first round.
Carlsen on Modern Chess Prodigies
In the same interview, Carlsen also commented on the differences between his generation and current chess prodigies. "Children progress much faster now thanks to the internet, but I would say that one of its disadvantages is that they become very dependent on computer programs and their criteria," he observed.
He specifically highlighted Gukesh's development as an exception: "Gukesh, the current world champion, is very good in part because his coach wouldn't let him use these programs until he was a very strong player."
Carlsen expressed concern about the broader trend: "Many children become obsessed with computer engines, and this impairs critical thinking. Some of the younger grandmasters even lack some critical thinking skills, some logic."
Carlsen's Tournament Considerations
Interestingly, Carlsen revealed during a press conference in Barcelona that he had almost agreed to participate in the Wijk aan Zee tournament where Gukesh recently competed. The former champion was in Barcelona as part of the International Casinos and Entertainment Expo (ICE Barcelona 2026), where he played a blindfold exhibition game with Hikaru Nakamura.
Carlsen's interview was conducted earlier in the week, preceding Gukesh's one-move blunder against Nodirbek Abdusattorov at the Tata Steel Chess tournament, adding context to his comments about the young champion's learning process.
The chess world continues to watch Gukesh's development with interest as he navigates the challenges of defending his world championship title while managing the substantial expectations that accompany his historic achievement at such a young age.
