Carlsen says he’ll treat Gukesh as a ‘weaker’ player in Grand Chess Tour Croatia leg

Magnus Carlsen hasn't yet accepted India's World Champion D Gukesh as a complete chess player. It was evident from his assessment of the teenager ahead of the Grand Chess Tour: SuperUnited Croatia Rapid & Blitz event, which began in Zagreb on Wednesday.

"It remains to be proven that he (Gukesh) is one of the best players in the world in such a format," Carlsen told the official broadcaster in an interview. The format Carlsen was referring to is rapid and blitz games, where the time control is 25 minutes (10-second increment per move) and 5 minutes (2-second increment per move) respectively.

Gukesh is the reigning World Champion in the classical format, where the time control is often in excess of two hours per player. The FIDE ratings also support Carlsen's assessment. While the Norwegian is ranked No 1 across all formats, Gukesh is ranked 42nd in the world in Rapid and 93rd in Blitz.

"Gukesh hasn’t done anything to indicate that he’s going to do well in such a tournament," Carlsen said. The five-time World Champion then added: "I hope for his sake that he can play better, but playing him in this tournament, I will approach it as I’m playing one of the presumably weaker players in the tournament."

The event features 10 leading players, including the player in form, R Praggnanandhaa of India. Gukesh recently defeated Carlsen for the first time in classical chess after a blunder in the end game by the World No 1.

Meanwhile, Gukesh made a steady start to the Rapid event, tied first with Carlsen and two others after the first day in which three rounds were played. Gukesh lost his first game against Jan-Krzyztof Duda, but defeated one of the favourites, Alirez Firouzja and compatriot Praggnanandhaa in the next two rounds.