Ever since Gukesh Dommaraju defeated Ding Liren to change into the youngest world champion in chess historical past, the world has been obsessive about what-ifs. What if Magnus Carlsen had not abdicated the throne? What if it has been Carlsen taking part in towards Gukesh as an alternative of Ding?
Carlsen’s disinterest in taking part in classical tournaments has meant that the world no.1 and the world champion haven’t come nose to nose within the longest format of the game since Gukesh’s coronation in December. The final time they duelled in a classical chess sport was the 2023 FIDE World Cup when Carlsen defeated {the teenager} from Chennai within the two-game quarter-finals.
However on Monday, the chess world will get the conflict it has wished for some time as Gukesh performs with black items towards Carlsen on the Norway Chess event, one of many uncommon occasions for which Carlsen makes an exception to his self-imposed classical chess exile. The date for the second conflict — the place Gukesh performs with white items — might be made public quickly.
This yr’s Norway Chess has one of many strongest fields in current historical past with the world’s prime 5 ranked gamers — Carlsen, No.2 Hikaru Nakamura, No.3 Gukesh, No.4 Arjun Erigiaisi and No.5 Fabiano Caruana — being joined by China’s World No.8 Wei Yi. It’s nearly a mini-Candidates event the place two flag-bearers of the present Indian golden technology – Gukesh and Arjun – tackle the troika of grizzled veterans – Carlsen, Caruana and Nakamura.
The ladies’s occasion could have reigning world champion Ju Wenjun being joined by a stacked area that features India’s Koneru Humpy, Vaishali Rameshbabu moreover gamers like Sara Khadem, Lei Tingjie and Anna Muzychuk.
Carlsen admitted that he had no thought what to anticipate from himself.
“Whether or not it’s towards Gukesh or any individual else right here, I’m probably not fairly certain what to anticipate from these video games particularly,” Carlsen stated on the press convention on Sunday. “I actually wish to do properly in these video games and he (Gukesh) does as properly.”
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Up to now, Carlsen has spoken quite a bit concerning the 18-year-old Indian. He was notably scathing in his feedback about at occasions throughout the world championship.
“If folks assume I used to be criticising Gukesh an excessive amount of (throughout the world championship), it’s as a result of I anticipate a lot from him in classical chess” Carlsen stated in a current interview with Take Take Take.
“It is going to be a really attention-grabbing sport and a enjoyable problem,” Gukesh stated concerning the conflict. “I hope it is going to be a deal with.”
Sluggish starter
Carlsen stated that since he does play a whole lot of different codecs of chess like freestyle and on-line, he’s unlikely to be rusty. However he does anticipate a gradual begin on the event.
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“It’s going to take some time for me to get into the velocity of the sport. I don’t anticipate essentially to be at my sharpest within the first couple of video games. I really feel like I’m by no means that until I’ve had very current taking part in expertise. I hope in every week from now, I’ll be in nice form,” he stated.
Gukesh, then again, has spent the previous 5 months since changing into world champion below intense scrutiny for his type. He nearly gained the Tata Metal event in Wijk aan Zee, earlier than being thwarted by Arjun Erigaisi and Praggnanandhaa. Since then, Gukesh has skilled an uncharacteristic hunch: he went by way of the Weissenhaus leg of the Freestyle Chess event with out a win, earlier than experiencing extra woe within the Paris leg of the Freestyle occasion. After which, his ends in freestyle began to poison his type in classical chess as properly: on the current Superbet Traditional Romania occasion, Gukesh gained only a single sport out of 9.
However Gukesh stated he was not too perturbed by the scrutiny or his run of outcomes. He stated he was unable to coach with full gusto within the first couple of weeks after changing into world champion. However in current months, he’s again to the grind.
“Final yr (2024) in classical chess, I performed tournaments the place I type of proved no matter wanted to be proved. And proper now, the main focus is just not about proving it,” Gukesh advised Norway Chess in an interview on Saturday. “The world championship is just not the place I wish to cease. I wish to transcend that. So it’s not about proving, however enhancing myself and going past the place I’m.”
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(The author is in Stavanger on the invitation of Norway Chess)