Magnus Carlsen: D Gukesh is by far the best, apart from Alireza Firouzja

Gukesh and Arjun are the part of India's golden generation of chess players who recently won the 2024 Olympiad.

World No.1 Magnus Carlsen said that India's D Gukesh was the best among upcoming players, alongside France’s Alireza Firouzja. (PHOTOS: FIDE/Stev Bonhage, Anna Shtourman)

World No.1 Magnus Carlsen said that India’s D Gukesh was the best among upcoming players, alongside France’s Alireza Firouzja. The 33-year-old Norwegian also gave his opinions on Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi who is on the verge of reaching 2800 points in rankings.

“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,” Carlsen said on the sidelines of the Julius Baer Generation Cup 2024.

Gukesh and Arjun are the part of India’s golden generation of chess players who recently won the 2024 Olympiad.

"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." – Magnus Carlsen#ChessChamps https://t.co/Z8XfpXDzuW pic.twitter.com/XvDxVsbgXH

— chess24 (@chess24com) September 29, 2024

The Indian men’s team in the open section was so breathtakingly formidable that in 44 games, they lost just once, winning 27 and drawing the remaining. They capped the event by brushing aside Slovenia with three wins and a draw.

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The Indian women’s team also raced across the finish line by winning three games and drawing one against Azerbaijan. An indicator of Indian chess’ depth can be gauged by the fact that India’s top-ranked women’s player Koneru Humpy chose to sit out the Olympiad and the team still won gold.

For the individual honours, Gukesh and Erigaisi, who played on board 1 and 3 respectively, walked away with the top honours. In the women’s category, Divya Deshmukh and Vantika Agrawal, who featured on board 3 and 4 respectively, were the best players.

Meanwhile, Gukesh will take on world champion Ding Liren in the FIDE World Chess Championship in Singapore from November 20 to December 14.