Carlsen Weighs In on Gukesh's Performance After Day One: 'The Jury's Still Out'

Magnus Carlsen, the world's top-ranked chess player, has offered his assessment of D. Gukesh, the reigning world champion, following the first day of the SuperUnited Croatia Rapid & Blitz 2025 tournament.

Magnus Carlsen and D. Gukesh face off during Norway Chess 2025

Gukesh, at just 19 years old, is currently tied for the lead in the tournament alongside Carlsen, Wesley So, and Jan-Krzysztof Duda.

During an interview, Carlsen lauded R. Praggnanandhaa's achievements but indicated that he hasn't been particularly impressed by the young Indian players thus far, including Gukesh.

"Pragg has done very, very well for a while now," Carlsen stated. "I mean, he's won three classical super tournaments this year, which is extremely impressive. The other kids, they have their ups and downs."

He also commented on Alireza Firouzja: "Normally, you would think in such a format, Alireza would be very strong. He probably has not had the best start, but I'm sure he'll be there."

Regarding Gukesh, Carlsen acknowledged his progress: "Gukesh is showing signs of improvement as well. It's very hard to say who's going to do well. But in terms of impressing me, well, that remains to be seen."

After Round 1, Carlsen confessed to feeling somewhat "rusty."

"I feel like it was a little bit shaky today, especially in time trouble. Of course, in the first game, nothing really happened. In the second, I managed to eke out a win somehow against Wesley. Didn't really feel that I had much at all. But then all of a sudden, I think he missed a little trick when I was able to keep the bishops on the board. And I think he got quite rattled after that."

Reflecting on his final game, Carlsen added, "In the last game, I didn't particularly mind the draw. But I also wanted to try. And I felt like I managed to get chances there out of nothing. I don't know if I had serious winning chances. Towards the end, I was really flirting with a loss as well. But yeah, overall, the score is all right. I'll take that. But it feels a bit rusty."