The brewing tension between Magnus Carlsen and D Gukesh has taken another turn, as reported by The National Bulletin, with the Norwegian grandmaster delivering yet another pointed comment aimed at India's newly crowned World Champion.
During the Esports World Cup chess tournament, Carlsen participated in a social media challenge where he was asked to remain silent until hearing the name of a chess player he considered superior. The Norwegian stayed quiet even upon hearing Bobby Fischer's name, only speaking up when Garry Kasparov was mentioned.
When the video surfaced on Instagram, Carlsen seemingly couldn't resist a swipe at Gukesh, commenting: "Would have stayed quiet for Gukesh as well."
The rivalry between Carlsen and Gukesh has intensified since the latter’s World Championship victory over Ding Liren in December 2024. Carlsen was quick to criticise the quality of that championship match, suggesting that Gukesh's triumph came largely due to his opponent's critical blunder rather than superior play.
The five-time World Champion has rarely held back in his assessment of Gukesh's abilities, previously stating that the Indian prodigy still falls short of his level. Before the SuperUnited Rapid and Blitz tournament, Carlsen openly questioned Gukesh's prowess in faster time controls, labeling him as relatively weak in those formats.
The rivalry isn't confined to verbal exchanges. At Norway Chess, Gukesh secured his first classical victory over Carlsen, a milestone win that clearly frustrated the Norwegian legend. The defeat led to Carlsen angrily banging his table, scattering chess pieces in a moment that went viral on social media.
Following that loss, Carlsen admitted to struggling with his form, stating: "Honestly, I am not enjoying playing chess at all right now. I don't feel any flow at all when I'm playing. I'm constantly hesitating and it's just really poor right now."
Gukesh, meanwhile, has remained focused on his performance, acknowledging the significance of beating Carlsen: "Yes, beating Magnus is always special, for sure. I think this also gives a bit more confidence in a sense that, like, I just had a horrible position from the opening. I just mixed up something really bad. It's nice that, like, two losing positions in a row, I could win against Magnus."
The young Indian champion also managed to defeat Carlsen in a rapid game at Zagreb, further cementing his emergence as a new name in world chess.
