D Gukesh says, "And the pure chess part, it was," in response to Magnus Carlsen's critique of the World C'ship victory.
At the World Chess championship on Thursday, D Gukesh upset the reigning champion Ding Liren, demonstrating his supremacy in Singapore. With the victory, the 18-year-old indian Grandmaster became the youngest world champion in history. Liren did his best to force a tie-breaker as the pivotal Game 14 got underway on an even playing field.
Gukesh prevailed 7.5-6.5, however, when Liren made a huge mistake.Gukesh was spotted sobbing uncontrollably after his victory, demonstrating his great emotion. In the meantime, people started congratulating him on his win, sending social media into a frenzy. However, former world champion Vladimir Kramnik downplayed it, calling the match the "end of chess as we know it" on X and expressing his dissatisfaction with its calibre. Kramnik called Liren's mistake "childish" as well. Magnus Carlsen, meanwhile, seemed to agree with Kramnik's opinions and was not happy with the match's quality. "A second or third-round match of an open tournament," he described it.Magnus Carlsen's response from D Gukesh
When questioned if Carlsen's remarks had offended him, Gukesh's viewpoint changed. In an interview with BBC World, he responded, "Not really."
"I understand that the quality of some of the games may have been lacking, but I believe that character and willpower are more important factors in determining the outcome of world championship matches than chess alone. And I believe I demonstrated those traits fairly effectively.
He noted that he was able to execute at crucial times even though the contest was of poor quality."And because it's a new experience for me, the pure chess portion wasn't as good as I would have hoped. Thus, the pressure and workload were different," he stated.
"It's understandable that I was a bit off but I managed to strike at the critical moments, which I am happy about," he said.
India veteran Viswanathan anand backed Gukesh in spite of Carlsen and Kramnik's criticism. On Friday, Gukesh was named the world champion at his FIDE coronation in Singapore.