Anand throws weight behind Gukesh on upcoming Norway Chess showdown against Carlsen: 'I expect a very exciting battle'

Though D Gukesh has faced Magnus Carlsen in the two Freestyle Chess events that have taken place so far this year, losing both encounters, the 18-year-old will be facing the world No 1 in the Classical format for the first time since being crowned world champion at Norway Chess later this year.

Gukesh Dommaraju hasn’t been having a great run in Freestyle Chess this year, the reigning Classical world champion having flopped in consecutive events in the Grand Slam Tour now. After failing to win a single game in the opening event in Weissenhaus,
Gukesh failed to progress to the quarter-finals of the Paris leg earlier this week, finishing 11th out of 12 competitors at the end of the round-robin stage.

His campaign in the ‘City of Light’ would then conclude with a
1.5-0.5 defeat at the hands of Richard Rapport in their 9th-12th place playoff match.

Despite his struggles in the unpredictable format that is Freestyle Chess, Indian chess legend Viswanathan Anand has backed Gukesh to put up a solid fight against world No 1 and five-time world champion Magnus Carlsen in Norway Chess later this year.

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