Magnus Carlsen not surprised by D Gukesh's poor run in Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour: 'It’s not close'

Magnus Carlsen and D Gukesh have had contrasting fortunes in the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour despite being so close to one another in the latest FIDE ratings, where they are ranked first and third respectively. While Carlsen had reached the semi-finals of the Weissenhaus leg before winning the second leg in Paris, Gukesh has finished in the bottom half of the table in both events.

The reigning Classical world champion had finished eighth out of 10 competitors in the opening event in Weissenhaus after failing to win a single game. He ended his winless run in Paris, beating compatriots Arjun Erigaisi and R Praggnanandhaa as well as Weissenhaus champion Keymer along the way.

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The wins, however, hardly improved his Freestyle fortunes as he failed to reach the quarter-finals and eventually finished at the bottom of the table, sharing the 11th spot with fellow Indian Vidit Gujrathi after losing his 9th-12th place playoff against Richard Rapport.

Carlsen expects Gukesh to improve at some point, but not in the near future

Carlsen shared his thoughts on Gukesh’s poor run in the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour, stating that while he might get better in the format at some point, he doesn’t see that happening anytime soon.

“No,” said Carlsen when asked if he was surprised by the reigning Classical world champion struggling to adapt to the Freestyle Chess format.

“I think we have had three-out-of-three events which have been difficult for him, and I’m sure he will grasp things better at some point. But for the moment, it’s not close,” he added.

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While Gukesh, Gujrathi and R Praggnanandhaa finished in the bottom half of the table with ‘Pragg’ defeating Rapport for the ninth spot, world No 4 Erigaisi impressed on debut as he finished at the fourth spot at the end of the round-robin stage and eventually finished fifth.

The third leg of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour takes place in Las Vegas, USA in July, with the organisers moving the venue from New York City.