Former women's world champion Susan Polgar has come out strongly in defence of India’s teenage sensation D Gukesh after Garry Kasparov questioned the legitimacy of his world classical title.
Taking to social media, Polgar dismissed doubts over the 18-year-old’s credentials.
“Gukesh is a DESERVING World Classical Champion, period!” she wrote on X. “He went through the FIDE Candidates as an 18-year-old, the youngest in the tournament, and came out ahead of big stars Caruana, Nakamura, Nepo, Firouzja, and Pragg. It was not his fault that Magnus Carlsen walked away from his title. If we delegitimize Gukesh’s title because he didn’t beat Carlsen, then we must do the same for champions after Bobby Fischer since he also walked away. We can’t have different standards for players we like or dislike.”
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Her response followed Kasparov’s sharp assessment during the Sinquefield Cup broadcast on Friday.
The six-time world champion acknowledged Gukesh’s historic run but argued that Magnus Carlsen’s withdrawal in 2023 changed the nature of the title.
“Gukesh won fair and square, but you can hardly call him the strongest player in the world,” Kasparov said. “Magnus ended the era of classical world champions. Gukesh’s title is very different. It’s still clear Magnus is the strongest, and Gukesh is yet to prove his superiority over others—even players of his own age category.”
Kasparov later softened his tone, offering an apology while holding his stance: “I have to apologise time and again. This is not exactly the title that I had or Karpov had or Fischer had or Magnus had.”
Gukesh, who became the youngest world champion at 18 by defeating Ding Liren in Singapore last year, remains under intense spotlight. On Friday, he drew his Sinquefield Cup game against Polish GM Jan-Krzyysztof Duda, a former member of his world championship team.
Taking to social media, Polgar dismissed doubts over the 18-year-old’s credentials.
“Gukesh is a DESERVING World Classical Champion, period!” she wrote on X. “He went through the FIDE Candidates as an 18-year-old, the youngest in the tournament, and came out ahead of big stars Caruana, Nakamura, Nepo, Firouzja, and Pragg. It was not his fault that Magnus Carlsen walked away from his title. If we delegitimize Gukesh’s title because he didn’t beat Carlsen, then we must do the same for champions after Bobby Fischer since he also walked away. We can’t have different standards for players we like or dislike.”
Video
Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel.
Her response followed Kasparov’s sharp assessment during the Sinquefield Cup broadcast on Friday.
The six-time world champion acknowledged Gukesh’s historic run but argued that Magnus Carlsen’s withdrawal in 2023 changed the nature of the title.
“Gukesh won fair and square, but you can hardly call him the strongest player in the world,” Kasparov said. “Magnus ended the era of classical world champions. Gukesh’s title is very different. It’s still clear Magnus is the strongest, and Gukesh is yet to prove his superiority over others—even players of his own age category.”
Kasparov later softened his tone, offering an apology while holding his stance: “I have to apologise time and again. This is not exactly the title that I had or Karpov had or Fischer had or Magnus had.”
Gukesh, who became the youngest world champion at 18 by defeating Ding Liren in Singapore last year, remains under intense spotlight. On Friday, he drew his Sinquefield Cup game against Polish GM Jan-Krzyysztof Duda, a former member of his world championship team.
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