“Gukesh should forget he’ll never be Magnus Carlsen,” says Hikaru Nakamura
World champion D Gukesh is crumbling under the weight of expectations and needs to shut out the noise to regain his form ahead of his title defence, said American Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura. Gukesh has faced a slump since his historic 2024 World Championship win, dropping down in ratings after finishing last at both Norway Chess and a recent event in Chennai, alongside low finishes at the Tata Steel Chess and Prague Masters. “I don’t know what Gukesh can do differently. I know what he should have done differently, which is to basically be willing to take draws in a lot of games instead of trying to play for the win,” Nakamura said. “But obviously, I’m not Indian. So, I don’t necessarily understand the culture, all the pressure that he’s facing. But I get the general sense that there’s a lot of pressure whether it’s external, whether it’s internal. I think he’s crumbling because of it. “I think if he can block it all out, forget that he’s world champion. You know, this is obviously quotable. …
