‘Gukesh may not remain chess world champion after next world championship match’: Judit Polgar
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‘Gukesh may not remain chess world champion after next world championship match’: Judit Polgar


Judit Polgar has questioned D Gukesh’s chances of retaining the world chess title at the World Chess Championship later this year as the Indian grandmaster struggles to live up to the expectations.

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.

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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.

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“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.

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Gukesh draws with Niemann in Prague International Chess
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Gukesh draws with Niemann in Prague International Chess


Gukesh draws with Niemann in Prague International Chess

World Chess Champion D. Gukesh. File
| Photo Credit: PTI

World champion D. Gukesh survived some anxious moments in the early middle game before finally drawing with Hans Moke Niemann of the United States in the first round of the masters section of the Prague International Chess Festival here.

The Berlin defense that went wrong for white could be a perfect heading for the encounter between the world champion and Niemann, who is walking his way to the elite chess circles after being indirectly accused of foul play.

It may be recalled that the American infamously won a game against world number one Magnus Carlsen, which will now be documented in a forthcoming Netflix series.

Niemann came all guns blazing and sacrificed a piece with black piece as early as on move 13 to put Gukesh on the back foot despite having the white pieces.

The Indian was down but not out which he proved as the game progressed, and even though, black seemed like pushing for more with his extra pawns in exchange for the sacrificed knight, Gukesh ensured that he stayed in the game.

The eventual outcome was a draw, the lone one in the 10-player, nine round tournament that saw everyone with white pieces triumph in contrasting styles.

Defending champion Aravindh Chithambaram of India turned out to be on the wrong side of a position against Nodirbek Abdusattorov of Uzbekistan.

The Philidor defense by the Indian generated enough evidence that every opening could be playable only till he walked into a deft manoeuvre.

Aravindh lost in the rook and minor piece endgame after losing one of his pawn, and if that was not enough top seeded Vincent Keymer of Germany was blown away by a resurgent Jorden van Foreest of The Netherlands.

It was another Berlin defense wherein Foreest came out with a new idea that perplexed Keymer. As the opening concluded, the Dutchman had an advantage and he picked up a handful of pawns to register a comprehensive victory.

Also ending on a winning note was Abdusattorov’s name sake and teammate Nodirbek Yakubboev who put it across David Anton Gujjaro of Spain, while in the other encounter of the day local favourite Navara David proved stronger against Iranian Parham Maghsoodloo.

In the challengers section, women’s World Cup winner Divya Deshmukh drew with top-seeded Benjamin Gledura of Hungary from a position of strength but Surya Shekhar Ganguly ended on the receiving end against Thomas Beerdsen of The Netherlands.

Results after round 1 Masters: D Gukesh (IND) drew with Hans Moke Niemann (USA); Nodirbek Abdusattorov (UZB) beat Aravindh Chithambaram (IND); Jorden van Foreest (NED) beat Vincent Keymer (GER); David Navara (CZE) beat Parham Maghsoodloo (IRI); Nodirbek Yakubboev beat David Anton Guijarro (ESP).

Challengers: Divya Deshmukh (IND) drew with Benjamin Gledura (HUN); Surya Shekhar Ganguly (IND) lost to Thomas Beersden (NED); Zhu Jiner (CHN) lost to Jachym Nemec (CZE); Daniel Yuffa (ESP) lost to Stepen Hrbek (CZE); Jonas Buhl Bjerre (DEN) drew with Vaclav Finek (CZE).

Published – February 26, 2026 10:41 am IST