Former world champion Magnus Carlsen, who will relinquish his title in 2022, has confirmed he will not challenge Gukesh D in the future, citing a lack of motivation.
“I mean, let’s talk about Gukesh and the match. I am no longer part of this circus,” he added.
Magnus praised Gukesh’s impressive performance and said that he deserves to be the world chess champion.
“Of course, it was something unexpected,” he said.
“Many of us thought that Gukesh was the favorite to win the game, but it was a game that never really ended.
“Gukesh was clearly fighting for victory. I think he was doing a great job keeping the game alive.
“But it all happened very, very suddenly. And that, I think, he also explained later, that he was a little bit on autopilot, expecting the tires to break, and all of a sudden you get this chance, and it’s all over,” Magnus said. Game 14.
Magnus also credited Ding Liren for showing resistance.
“You can say all you can about Ding and the way he plays, but he really raised his level in this game,” he said.
In April, earlier this year, Gukesh stunned the world by winning the eight-man Candidates tournament in Toronto, topping a stacked field that included Ian Nepomniachi, Hikaru Nakamura and Fabiano Caruana to become the youngest challenger for the world championship.
“And yet, we talked about how we expected more from Gukesh. It feels like he got a lot. He’s had a lot of good moments, he’s had some really bad ones, but he’s overall, I think, he deserves it.
“And especially when we look at the way he got here. First, he came down the feeder circuit, won a tournament in Chennai to get here. Then he did amazing in the Candidates tournament, played, I think, one of the best tournaments we’ve seen there in recent years. One, there was a great Olympiad, although it was not part of the cycle.
“And so the total is pretty impressive, (5:05) even if this game and it’s over, maybe not as convincing (5:12) as people initially thought.”
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