A wake-up call for the chess world champion
India's D Gukesh, the youngest chess world champion, faces a decline in form, losing to Frederik Svane at the FIDE Chess World Cup in Goa.
Last year, around this time, India’s D Gukesh was challenging China’s Ding Liren for the World Chess Championship title. A month later, on December 12, he was perched on top of the classical chess world, the youngest chess world champion ever. Accolades and victory parades followed, and Gukesh was tipped to take over the mantle from India’s five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand. But as Gukesh eased back into competition, his strengths — the consistent high level of chess, dogged resistance, and the knack of coming up with the best possible moves under pressure — seem to be fading.
On Saturday, top seed Gukesh lost in the third round of the FIDE Chess World Cup in Goa to 21-year-old German Frederik Svane (2,640). His rating hovered between 2,794 in October 2024 and 2,787 in April 2025. It currently sits at 2,763. That’s not surprising considering his form this year. In January, he lost to R Praggnanandhaa in a tiebreaker for the first spot at the Tata Steel Chess. At the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour, he finished eighth in the first leg and 11th in the second leg. At the second leg of the Grand Chess Tour in Romania, he finished joint sixth. He raised hopes at the Norway Chess with victories over World No. 2 Hikaru Nakamura and then World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen, but failed to win the tournament.
But, throughout the year, the world chess champion hasn’t played like one. Since October 2024, Gukesh gained rating points in just two months. He has lost points in all the other months. It could well be a case of trying too hard as Gukesh sought to prove that his world championship title was no fluke. There was no reason for him to attend the FIDE Chess World Cup in Goa — as the reigning World Chess Champion, he need not have participated in the tournament. Maybe he needs to take time off the chessboard. It may help him defend his world title next year, no mean task, considering the pressure. Only Anand and Carlsen have managed to defend their titles in recent times.
Last year, around this time, India’s D Gukesh was challenging China’s Ding Liren for the World Chess Championship title. A month later, on December 12, he was perched on top of the classical chess world, the youngest chess world champion ever. Accolades and victory parades followed, and Gukesh was tipped to take over the mantle from India’s five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand. But as Gukesh eased back into competition, his strengths — the consistent high level of chess, dogged resistance, and the knack of coming up with the best possible moves under pressure — seem to be fading.
On Saturday, top seed Gukesh lost in the third round of the FIDE Chess World Cup in Goa to 21-year-old German Frederik Svane (2,640). His rating hovered between 2,794 in October 2024 and 2,787 in April 2025. It currently sits at 2,763. That’s not surprising considering his form this year. In January, he lost to R Praggnanandhaa in a tiebreaker for the first spot at the Tata Steel Chess. At the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour, he finished eighth in the first leg and 11th in the second leg. At the second leg of the Grand Chess Tour in Romania, he finished joint sixth. He raised hopes at the Norway Chess with victories over World No. 2 Hikaru Nakamura and then World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen, but failed to win the tournament.
But, throughout the year, the world chess champion hasn’t played like one. Since October 2024, Gukesh gained rating points in just two months. He has lost points in all the other months. It could well be a case of trying too hard as Gukesh sought to prove that his world championship title was no fluke. There was no reason for him to attend the FIDE Chess World Cup in Goa — as the reigning World Chess Champion, he need not have participated in the tournament. Maybe he needs to take time off the chessboard. It may help him defend his world title next year, no mean task, considering the pressure. Only Anand and Carlsen have managed to defend their titles in recent times.
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