D Gukesh may not remain chess world champion by the end of 2026, the legendary Judit Polgar has predicted in a recent interview. Judit Polgar, the only woman to be ranked in the world’s top 10, also spoke on what could help 19-year-old Gukesh to recover from an alarming dip before he defends his world title later this year.

Gukesh won the world chess championship at 18 by beating Chinese Grandmaster Ding Liren in December 2024, but hasn’t won a major title since becoming the world’s youngest world champion. At the recently-concluded Prague Chess Masters 2026, Gukesh spoke about the
need for a break from the spotlight as he finished with just one win.

Gukesh to lose world chess title crown?

The challenger for Gukesh’s world crown will be decided in April 2026, with eight players set to take part in FIDE Candidates 2026. And Judit Polgar feels whoever wins the Candidates will also become the next world chess champion.

“There is a very, very big question mark whether Gukesh can stay the world champion (at the end of this year),” Polgar told The Indian Express. “I’m sure Gukesh has a great future, but I’m not sure he’s going to be world champion after the next world championship match. But it doesn’t mean he’s not going to regain it again if it happens.”

While analysing what has gone wrong with Gukesh, Polgar felt that the teenager is taking fewer risks as compared to the time when he was not a world champion and had displayed remarkable mental strength, which is not the case anymore.

“First of all, he was extremely young when he became a world champion. In the world championship, he had a very special momentum because Ding Liren (who Gukesh beat to become the world champion) was very clearly having very difficult psychological and mental issues. At the same time, I think it was fantastic for Gukesh that he did not win on the chessboard, but he won because of his mental strength,” Polgar told The Indian Express.

“Gukesh was able to stand the pressure better. He was ready to make mistakes, but bounce back from them. He was ready to concentrate and focus. Like in a safari, the jaguar comes and attacks when he’s hunting. So he was ready for this, that whenever Ding made a mistake, he was ready. This is what happened with rook to f2 in the final game.”

“At that world championship (in November-December 2024), Gukesh played well, but he did not play so much better than Ding at all. But psychological and mental (strength), I think it was a very important part of his preparation, and that paid off,” added Polgar.

The suggestion for Gukesh to script a comeback was to sharpen his mental conditioning and go back to taking risks.

“He has to not only work on his chess, but also has to spend a lot of time on his psychological mental preparation. How not to be afraid of making mistakes and play it out,” Polgar shared.