Courtesy: X
Magnus Carlsen, the world number one player in classical chess, shared his thoughts on the upcoming players in the sport, stating that Indian grandmaster Dommaraju Gukesh is by far the best apart from Alireza Firouzja, who hails from France. The Norwegian, who has been widely regarded as the greatest chess player of all-time, also looked forward to whether Arjun Erigaisi could reach the 2800 rating on the sidelines of the Julius Baer Generation Cup 2024.
Notably, Indian chess has been on an upward trajectory in recent years with quality young players in both men’s and women’s sections emerging at a rapid pace. The likes of Dommaraju Gukesh, Arjun Erigaisi, Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, and Vidit Gujarathi, have been performing splendidly well, winning the prestigious Chess Olympiad for the first-time in its 45th edition earlier this month in Budapest, Hungary.
Indian men's chess team won Chess Olympiad for the first-time in their history earlier this month
In the open section of the 45th Chess Olympiad, the Indian men’s chess team were unreal, winning 27 out of 44 matches, and losing just one of them apart from the draws. They ended the tournament by getting the better of Slovenia 3.5-0.5, to collect 21 match points, finishing four points ahead of silver medallists the USA, and the bronze medallists Uzbekistan, separated by board points, at the SYMA Sports and Conference Center.
While responding to a fan question on Chess24 platform, which read, “Do you feel as if the next generation is getting increasingly closer in ability?,” Magnus Carlsen was like “I mean.. they are young, so they should!” He also elaborated on the matter and said, “It remains to be seen if Arjun is quite 2800 strength yet, but Gukesh is really really good. I think he is by far the best apart from Alireza.”
Moreover, Dommaraju Gukesh will be facing off against the world champion from China, Ding Liren, in the FIDE World Chess Championship in Singapore from November 20 to December 14.
