3 min readUpdated: Mar 31, 2026 07:11 PM IST
Chess world champion D Gukesh who didn’t have the best of seasons last year, acknowledged his ‘disappointing’ performances, adding that in order to find his best form he has decided to compete with slightly less intensity. To do that, the Indian GM said that he would skip long events which are away from home in order to get more time to train.
The 19-year-old said that he’ll only participate in the Rapid & Blitz tournaments in Warsaw and Zagreb this year and thanked the Grand Chess Tour organizers for their approval of his request.
“My performance in the last few events has been quite disappointing, not just for me, but for all of you who support me. In order to find my best form my team and I have decided that I should compete with slightly less intensity over the next few months. Consequently, we feel it is in my best interest to skip long events away from home to allow for more dedicated training time,” Gukesh posted on X on Tuesday.
My performance in the last few events has been quite disappointing, not just for me, but for all of you who support me.
In order to find my best form my team and I have decided that I should compete with slightly less intensity over the next few months. Consequently, we feel it… pic.twitter.com/EmtAE3hn6c
— Gukesh D (@DGukesh) March 31, 2026
“With this in mind, I approached the Grand Chess Tour organizers and asked to play only two European Rapid & Blitz events. They were very supportive and understanding, and we agreed that I would participate in the Rapid & Blitz tournaments in Warsaw and Zagreb this year. I’m very grateful for their support. Respectfully, I am not planning to play any other events during the Grand Chess Tour schedule and will certainly be back for the full Grand Chess Tour in the future,” he added.
For Gukesh, 2024 was a career defining year: he won the ultra-competitive Candidates in the first time of asking, became the youngest world champion in history and, in between those two feats, led India to a barnstorming gold-medal winning campaign at the Chess Olympiad. For a short period of time, he even became the world no 3.
Then came the slump of 2025, where he did not win a single tournament, losing in the Grand Swiss as well as getting eliminated from the FIDE World Cup in just the third round. That form has bled into 2026 where he finished 10th at the Tata Steel Chess before being joint-last at the Prague Masters.
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