Jun 02, 2025 05:27 PM IST
Speaking after D Gukesh’s win, his grandfather Shankar Rajesh had an ecstatic response to the result. Meanwhile, he also defended Magnus Carlsen’s reaction.
D Gukesh left Magnus Carlsen shellshocked on Sunday in their Round 6 face-off as the 18-year-old GM sealed a surprising win against the World No. 1 at Norway Chess 2025. The Indian GM was in a losing position, but a massive blunder by Carlsen saw him take advantage in the end-game and clinch his maiden classical win against the Norwegian.
Speaking after Gukesh’s win, his grandfather Shankar Rajesh had an ecstatic response to the result. Speaking to ANI, he said, “One of the major achievements which he hadn’t achieved before, he achieved now. Gukesh has now beaten Magnus Carlsen as well. There is no pressure on him now.”
The match lasted 62 moves and over fours hours, and Carlsen lost to the reigning World Champion. Gukesh’s fans were also pleased that he finally defeated Carlsen, who had criticised the quality of his World C’ship win vs Ding Liren.
‘That is natural’
The win also saw Carlsen slam his table in frustration as he lost to Gukesh, and then also shook hands with the Indian GM. Defending Carlsen for his behaviour, Rajesh said, “That is natural.”
“He will be relaxed and he will be practising…”
He also revealed that he hasn’t spoken to Gukesh yet as they don’t disturb him during tournaments.
Gukesh had lost to Carlsen in the opening round, so for him the win also served as sweet revenge. He is now in third spot with 8.5 points, behind Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana by only one point.
Hailing Gukesh, his coach Grzegorz Gajewski said, “It (win) just gives a huge pump of confidence (to Gukesh) because once you’ve done it, you know you can do it again. And that’s the plan.”
“And for the tournament (Norway Chess) that’s going ahead, it gives him (Gukesh) a bump. Hopefully we can break another unbreakable margin. Perfect,” he added.
