Anand On Carlsen’s Frustration After Gukesh Defeat: “He Took It Very Personally”

In Round 6 of the current Norway Chess 2025 tournament, teen chess star D Gukesh astonished the chess world once more by upsetting World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen. This was Gukesh's first-ever classical victory over the five-time World Champion. With this significant win, the 18-year-old Indian grandmaster, who made history by defeating Ding Liren to become the youngest World Champion last year, has finally silenced some of his harshest detractors.

Top players like Carlsen and Vladimir Kramnik had already expressed doubt about Gukesh's championship victory, questioning its legitimacy in light of Carlsen's nonattendance at the FIDE cycle and Liren's error in the pivotal match.

After losing to the Norwegian in the tournament's opening match, many thought Gukesh could only establish his reputation by defeating Carlsen directly, which he did in this match.

In their much awaited Round 6 rematch, Gukesh stayed true to the traditional principles and took advantage of Carlsen's infrequent endgame error. The costly error resulted in an unusual outburst from Carlsen, who typically maintains his composure. His frustrated smack of the table went viral.

In an interview with PTI, chess great Viswanathan Anand commented on the situation and provided a sympathetic assessment of Carlsen's response. "This game (against Gukesh) meant a lot to him," Anand stated. "Even though he was merely following the rules in other games, this one obviously carried emotional significance. He most likely intended to convey a message to the younger generation along the lines of "wait a few more years." A 2-0 victory over Gukesh would have pleased him greatly.

Being a five-time World Champion himself, Anand understood Carlsen's frustration. "He would have detested losing from a position of such dominance against any opponent in the world.

It was a serious mistake to miss the knight's retreat. When I lost to Magnus in Norway in 2022, I had the exact same feeling," he said.

Anand said that Carlsen's error and emotional response might have been caused by elements like exhaustion and Norway Chess's special time control, which combines traditional chess with sudden-death Armageddon in the event of a tie.

Such reactions are not novel, according to Anand, who reflected on the larger context of emotional outbursts in chess. "These occurrences have persisted for a while. People yelling and swearing-I recall Vassily Ivanchuk throwing a chair following a match against Jaan Ehlvest at the 2000 World Championship in Delhi. "Now, the only difference is that everything is captured by cameras," he said.

Carlsen took his games against Gukesh very seriously, Anand said. Magnus was obviously very motivated, whether of whether it was about Gukesh specifically or simply defeating the current World Champion. His response demonstrated how intensely he was thinking about it.

Anand remained calm when asked if Carlsen would be subject to FIDE disciplinary proceedings. "It is dependent upon the interpretation of the rules. These things are never easy. It will undoubtedly be discussed. However, someone like Hikaru Nakamura may counter that since it raises awareness of chess, we need more of this. Therefore, finding the ideal equilibrium is crucial.