Former world chess champion Magnus Carlsen has praised Gukesh Dommaraju while noting the unrealistic expectations placed on the young titleholder. In an interview, Carlsen suggested Gukesh may have contributed to the pressure by competing in top tournaments. He remains optimistic about Gukesh's future despite recent setbacks.
Gukesh Dommaraju, the 19-year-old world chess champion and the youngest in history, faced a challenging 2025 after claiming the title. He won no tournaments that year, with his closest chance coming at the Tata Steel Chess in Wijk aan Zee, where he lost in tiebreaks to Praggnanandhaa. The struggles persisted into 2026, highlighted by an unbelievable one-move blunder against Nodirbek Abdusattorov in round six of the same event and allowing World Cup winner Javokhir Sindarov to draw from a lost position in the first round.
In an interview with Spain's El Mundo, conducted earlier that week before the blunder, Magnus Carlsen addressed whether the championship burden was affecting Gukesh's play. "The expectations placed on him were unrealistic," Carlsen said. "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. His match against Ding Liren was more uneven, but even so, it’s difficult to dispute his results. Let’s remember that he’s still young, and until recently, nothing suggested he would be so consistently good."
Carlsen, who was in Barcelona for the International Casinos and Entertainment Expo (ICE Barcelona 2026), where he played a blindfold exhibition against Hikaru Nakamura, added optimism: "I think he’s reached a period of stability and is learning. In certain aspects, he’s become stronger... His trajectory is good." He tempered expectations, noting, "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."
Discussing modern prodigies, Carlsen highlighted Gukesh's advantage: his coach, Vishnu Prasanna, banned computer engines until he was strong, fostering critical thinking. "Children progress much faster now thanks to the internet, but... they become very dependent on computer programs," Carlsen observed, warning that engine obsession impairs logic in some young grandmasters.
Carlsen nearly joined the Wijk aan Zee tournament but confirmed his absence during a Barcelona press conference.