‘How can I grow up to this expectation that the world has’?

When asked what had gone wrong with Gukesh since becoming the youngest world champion, Polgar said that while she hadn’t analysed his games in great depth to know chess-wise what was amiss, she pointed out: “First of all, he was extremely young when he became a world champion. In the world championship, he had a very special momentum because Ding Liren (who Gukesh beat to become the world champion) was very clearly having very difficult psychological and mental issues. At the same time, I think it was fantastic for Gukesh that he did not win on the chessboard, but he won because of his mental strength. Gukesh was able to stand the pressure better. He was ready to make mistakes, but bounce back from them. He was ready to concentrate and focus. Like in a safari, the jaguar comes and attacks when he’s hunting. So he was ready for this, that whenever Ding made a mistake, he was ready. This is what happened with rook to f2 in the final game.”

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“At that world championship (in November-December 2024), Gukesh played well, but he did not play so much better than Ding at all. But psychological and mental (strength), I think it was a very important part of his preparation, and that paid off,” added Polgar.

Since Gukesh became the youngest world champion in chess history at the age of 18, he’s not won any tournament. The closest he came to winning an event was at the Tata Steel Chess tournament in Wijk aan Zee in 2025, in what was his first tournament as a world champion. But he’s had a wretched run at many events since then, like at the recent Prague Masters where he ended with a single win.

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A disappointed Gukesh after blundering an equal position against Nodirbek Abdusattorov. (PHOTO: Lennart Ootes)

“Ever since he became world champion, it’s been a completely different shift. When you’re a challenger, you’re the underdog, even though many people thought that he was a great favorite against Ding. Not because of his chess knowledge, it’s because of looking at everything as a whole. And his chess was not there yet. I mean, Gukesh cannot compare himself to Magnus Carlsen. He said it himself many times that he has a lot to learn. But you know, the world is watching him not as a challenger anymore, but the world champion. And there are suddenly expectations from him, while he does not necessarily have the knowledge yet. I’m sure it has been a very, very difficult fight within himself: how can I grow up to this expectation that the world has? Of course, I see his interviews and I see that he’s dealing with it, that he wants to play better chess, he wants to, he has to improve and so on and so on. But still, when the world is looking at you, how are you performing as a world champion? More than the world’s disappointment, the problem is his disappointment with himself.”

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Polgar’s solution for Gukesh was simple.

“He has to not only work on his chess, but also has to spend a lot of time on his psychological mental preparation. How not to be afraid of making mistakes and play it out,” she added.