Norwegian chess grandmaster Magnus Carlsen has been a prominent figure in the chess world for years, and his rivalry with India's D Gukesh has garnered attention recently. With Gukesh securing the title of world champion and Carlsen continuing to maintain his position as one of the most formidable players globally, their upcoming showdown in the 2025 Norway Chess tournament is highly anticipated. What makes this clash even more thrilling is Gukesh's claim to fame as the youngest player to ever defeat Carlsen, adding a legendary dimension to this faceoff.
Amidst the excitement surrounding the match, Carlsen has now openly shared his initial impression of the Indian prodigy when they first crossed paths. Read on to find out what Carlsen had to say about Gukesh's early potential and rise in the world of chess.
Magnus Carlsen’s first impression of D Gukesh
Magnus Carlsen’s thoughts on D Gukesh have evolved over the years, especially after Gukesh’s meteoric rise in the chess world. Reflecting on the first time he noticed the young Indian talent, Carlsen shared his impression of Gukesh’s early playing style.
According to Carlsen, he first became aware of Gukesh when the Indian grandmaster was just 12 years old, making waves as one of the youngest grandmasters in history.
Carlsen recalls, "I noticed Gukesh around the time he became a grandmaster. He was 12 then, one of the youngest grandmasters of all time."
At that point, Carlsen observed something unique in Gukesh’s approach to the game.
"You could sense that he had something. He was playing an extremely ambitious kind of chess, which was not quite the same as others," Carlsen remarked. However, Carlsen also noted that the young prodigy lacked the strength to fully sustain his ambitious style at the time, leading to a series of losses. "At that time, he did not have the strength to actually sustain that, so he actually lost a lot of games," Carlsen explained.
Despite these early challenges, Magnus Carlsen highlighted that Gukesh’s ambition was undeniable, and it was that ambition that made him stand out. Carlsen admitted that even though he drew his game against Gukesh, the Indian player had the upper hand in that match.
"I think I drew my game against him, and he was actually better in that game," Carlsen reflected.
The Norwegian grandmaster’s words emphasized that Gukesh’s "proper ambitious chess" was what caught his attention, leading him to believe that Gukesh was destined for greatness in the world of chess.
Carlsen continued, "I was thinking, this is a guy who is really trying to play proper ambitious chess. It felt like he definitely had something."
The trajectory of D Gukesh's career since that time has only confirmed Carlsen’s early assessment, with the Indian chess star achieving remarkable feats such as dethroning Viswanathan Anand as India's top-ranked player and claiming the 2024 FIDE World Chess Championship title in Singapore. With Gukesh’s rise to prominence, Carlsen’s early impression of the young prodigy seems to have been spot-on. The 2025 Norway Chess match between these two chess giants is sure to be one for the ages.