D Gukesh displays on Norway Chess marketing campaign: ‘Cannot say completely happy, however there are some issues…’

After a sequence of underwhelming performances following his runner-up end on the Tata Metal Chess, reigning world champion D Gukesh returned to type on the Norway Chess, the place he was among the many contenders for the trophy till the ultimate spherical.

Although he didn’t win the match, with
world No 1 Magnus Carlsen efficiently defending his title
and being topped champion for the seventh time, Gukesh highlighted the truth that he didn’t turn into world champion by chance, and that he deserved to be counted among the many sport’s elite.

Gukesh completed third within the match with a complete of 14.5 factors, behind Carlsen (16) and Fabiano Caruana (15.5). And the important thing takeaway from the match was his victories over Carlsen, Hikaru Nakamura and Arjun Erigaisi – the world’s high three gamers as per the most recent FIDE scores.

When requested to explain his Norway Chess 2025 marketing campaign, the Chennai lad, who turned 19 through the match, described it as one thing of a blended bag.

“Can’t say completely happy, however there are some issues to be completely happy about, some issues to be actually sad about,” Gukesh stated in an interview with ChessBase India.

“One factor is beginning so badly and ending so nicely. Within the last spherical, I had honest probabilities to win. Beginning with two losses in a match like this, it’s not nice. One other factor to be completely happy about is, on the whole, when I’m in good type, like the whole lot simply goes very easily, like in Candidates, Olympiad, when I’m in my greatest type, issues simply occur naturally.

“However generally, in tournaments when I’m not feeling at my greatest, it goes shakily. On this match, clearly I used to be not nowhere near my greatest. You don’t actually management your type. It simply comes and goes,” he added.

{The teenager} had arrived in Stavanger, the place the match happened, after an underwhelming run within the Weissenhaus and Paris legs of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour in addition to in Superbet Chess Traditional Romania, a Classical occasion in Bucharest the place he completed ninth out of 10 opponents.

Issues obtained worse for him after he started his marketing campaign in Norway with back-to-back losses, towards Carlsen and Arjun. Gukesh, nonetheless, bounced again
with a victory over Hikaru within the third spherical
adopted by an Armageddon win towards Caruana.

The spotlight of his marketing campaign, in addition to of the match, itself, was his
sixth-round victory over Carlsen
, wherein he pressured the long-lasting participant to resign in 62 regardless of going through a second consecutive defeat at one stage. It was the primary time Gukesh defeated Carlsen in his profession, and he turned solely the second Indian after R Praggnanandhaa to realize the feat.

OH MY GOD 😳🤯😲 pic.twitter.com/QSbbrvQFkE

— Norway Chess (@NorwayChess) June 1, 2025

Regardless of being shaken by the defeat, which
Carlsen later revealed made him really feel “washed and ineffective”
, the Norwegian went on to win the match regardless of being held to a draw by Arjun within the last spherical and shedding the following Armageddon sport.

Magnus finishes second or third even on his dangerous days

Gukesh, for one, felt that Carlsen tends to complete among the many high three even on his dangerous days.

“One factor about Magnus is that even when he’s in dangerous type, he finishes second or third most. So one factor that I will be completely happy about is, despite the fact that I used to be enjoying fairly badly, to be trustworthy, I nonetheless had probabilities to win. I assume the factor to be sad about is just that in some video games, I used to be simply misevaluating.

“For instance, in lots of video games, just about all of the video games, there have been one or two huge moments. However okay. That’s a chess weak point. It’s good that we may discover it, as a result of I can simply work on that. Some issues to be completely happy about, some issues to be not completely happy about. Total, I believe it was a pleasant expertise,” he added.

Gukesh has opted for a break after the Norway Chess marketing campaign, together with his title not showing within the Las Vegas leg of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour, the place he’s an computerized entry for all occasions being the world champion.