3 min learnUp to date: Apr 19, 2026 08:44 PM IST
Magnus Carlsen has weighed in on who he thinks will prevail between Uzbekistan’s Javokhir Sindarov, who just lately gained the Candidates, and D Gukesh forward of their World Chess Championship match on the finish of the 12 months. Sindarov was dominant on the Candidates, taking a wholesome lead midway by means of the match and successful it with out shedding a single sport.
Carlsen has, moderately famously, by no means rated Gukesh too excessive although the Norwegian five-time world champion has misplaced to the Indian a couple of well-known occasions previously 12 months or so. The 35-year-old stated on the Chess Celebration in Stockholm, Sweden that whereas he is aware of something can occur in a World Championship match, he backs Sindarov to prevail.
“For the time being its unattainable to not say Sindarov however we all know something can occur in a World Championship match,” stated Carlsen. “I’m initially actually curious as to what Sindarov within the subsequent few months as a result of he’s very totally different from Gukesh. Within the sense that Gukesh has very apparent weaknesses in the case of his understanding and Sindarov doesn’t. He’s much more well-rounded so, we’ll see,” stated Carlsen.
🇺🇿 Sindarov or 🇮🇳 Gukesh? 🇳🇴 Magnus shared his ideas on the Chess Celebration in Stockholm. pic.twitter.com/HvQYaxsFMN
— Worldwide Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) April 19, 2026
Earlier, Russian legend Garry Kasparov had additionally backed Sindarov to beat Gukesh on the title conflict. Kasparov additionally stated {that a} Sindarov victory on the world championship might tempt Carlsen to make a return.
“In comparison with Gukesh, in case you take a look at the video games, Sindarov appears just like the clear favourite. However this match is a particular format. Gukesh may be very mentally secure, capable of defend any place and discover sources even within the worst conditions. Gukesh has match expertise, however for Sindarov, this will likely be his first critical match. Sure, it’s comparatively quick — 14 video games, we’ve performed longer video games earlier than — however it can nonetheless be very fascinating,” Kasparov stated in an interview with St Louis Chess Membership’s YouTube deal with.
“The present World Champion is nineteen. The challenger is just 20. However I nonetheless wish to emphasize that the strongest chess participant (Carlsen) is 35. With all due respect. I’d like to see Sindarov enjoying Magnus, as a result of Carlsen continues to be round. Perhaps if Sindarov beats Gukesh, then there will likely be an opportunity to carry Magnus again and see how issues go,” he additional stated.
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