Since achieving the distinction of being the youngest world champion in history, D Gukesh's triumph in Singapore last year has been consistently minimized by several grandmasters, including Magnus Carlsen and Vladimir Kramnik. Recently, Norwegian Grandmaster Jon Ludvig Hammer has also expressed skepticism regarding Gukesh's remarkable accomplishment.

Hammer, who served as Carlsen's second during his first world championship victory over Viswanathan Anand in 2013, shared his thoughts with Take Take Take. He suggested that despite Gukesh holding the title, his competitors are of comparable strength.

“It would be beneficial for chess if Gukesh could maintain his title for an extended period,” he remarked. “We are currently in a scenario where the challengers and the champion possess similar abilities, which could lead to frequent changes in the titleholder, and I believe that would not be advantageous.”

‘I liked it when we had the Karpov, the Kasparov, the Carlsen…’

Hammer The discussion then shifted to examples, with the sentiment expressed that Gukesh must retain the title. "I appreciated the times when we had Karpov, Kasparov, and Carlsen, where one individual clearly stood out above the rest, as it adds significant legitimacy to the title," he remarked.

Recently, Gukesh experienced a disappointing performance in Paris, finishing last in the standings during the second leg of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam. Additionally, he did not secure any victories in Weissenhaus, where he placed eighth

Carlsen emerged victorious in the Paris event, defeating World No. 2 Hikaru Nakamura in the final, and subsequently took the lead in the Tour with 40 points. The World No. 1 also earned the prize money of 300,000 USD.

The upcoming Freestyle Chess Grand Slam is set to take place in Las Vegas from July 15 to 19. In the Paris event, Fabiano Caruana secured third place after winning against Vincent Keymer in the playoff, while India's Arjun Erigaisi finished fifth, followed by Ian Nepomniachtchi in seventh.

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