Carlsen on Gukesh's World Champion Status: 'Impressing Me Still a Question'

Magnus Carlsen, the world's top-rated chess player, has offered a candid assessment of D. Gukesh, the reigning world champion, after the first day of the SuperUnited Croatia Rapid & Blitz 2025.

Gukesh, 19, is currently tied for the lead with Carlsen, Wesley So, and Jan-Krzysztof Duda.

In an interview, Carlsen lauded R. Praggnanandhaa's achievements and acknowledged Gukesh's progress. However, he stated that he is yet to be truly impressed by the young Indian players.

"Pragg has done very, very well for a while now," Carlsen said. "I mean, he's won three classical super tournaments this year, which is extremely impressive. The other kids, they have their ups and downs."

He also commented on Alireza Firouzja, suggesting that the rapid and blitz format should favor him, while noting his less-than-ideal start to the tournament.

"Gukesh is showing signs of improvement as well. It's very hard to say who's going to do well," Carlsen added. "But in terms of impressing me, well, that remains to be seen."

Carlsen admitted to feeling "rusty" after the first round. He described his play as "shaky," particularly when under time pressure.

"I feel like it was a little bit shaky today, especially in time trouble. Of course, in the first game, nothing really happened. In the second, I managed to eke out a win somehow against Wesley," he explained. He felt fortunate to win the second game, stating, "Didn't really feel that I had much at all. But then all of a sudden, I think he missed a little trick when I was able to keep the bishops on the board. And I think he got quite rattled after that."

Regarding his final game of the day, Carlsen said, "In the last game, I didn't particularly mind the draw. But I also wanted to try. And I felt like I managed to get chances there out of nothing... I don't know if I had serious winning chances. Towards the end, I was really flirting with a loss as well. But yeah, overall, the score is all right. I'll take that. But it feels a bit rusty."