WATCH | D Gukesh’s epic response to Magnus Carlsen calling him ‘very optimistic player, doesn’t bluff’

World Chess Champion D Gukesh, who secured a win over Dutch Grandmaster Max Warmerdam in the 10th round of the Tata Steel Chess Tournament on January 30, has responded to recent comments made by World Number 1 Magnus Carlsen. In his remarks, Carlsen described Gukesh as a “very optimistic player” who “doesn’t bluff.”

During a post-match interview, Gukesh was asked about Carlsen’s comment from last week, where he said, “He’s a very optimistic player and he also said in his opinion, you (Gukesh) don’t bluff so much.” He was asked if he agrees with Carlen on his comments.

Responding to the question, Gukesh said, “Optimistic for sure, but I also bluff. It also depends on the position, opponent and stuff. It is not like I never do, but also I am not a huge bluffer I think.”

In another video which is being surfaced on the Internet shows Carlens praising Gukesh. While the exact timing of the video remains unclear, Carlsen shared his thoughts on GIBCHESS Youtube and said, “I noticed Gukesh around the time he became a grandmaster. He was 12 then, one of the youngest grandmasters of all time. You could sense that he had something. He was playing an extremely ambitious kind of chess, which was not quite the same as others. At that time he did not have the strength to actually sustain that, so he actually lost a lot of games. But I think I drew my game against him, and he was actually better in that game.”

Gukesh Vs Carlsen

After his win in Singapore, chess great Magnus Carlsen had said that classical chess was perhaps the “worst way” to measure a player, adding that rapid chess was perhaps a more “pure” form of chess. He said that Gukesh’s World Chess Championship final against China’s Ding Liren looked like a second or third round match in an open tournament.

However, Gukesh responded to Carlsen after his win in Singapore, stating that he understood that the quality of the games wasn’t always up to the mark, but overall, it was a good championship match. While Gukesh challenged Carlsen to the title, the Norwegian has ruled out such a title clash.