Kasparov on the Gukesh — Sindarov match: «Gukesh has the better chances»

Kasparov gives his prediction for the world championship match

Former world chess champion Garry Kasparov commented on the upcoming world championship match between Gukesh and Sindarov at a press conference ahead of a tournament in Antwerp, reports Daryo.uz. In his view, Sindarov plays a more spectacular game, but experience — which Gukesh possesses — is usually the decisive factor: «He is hard to beat. That is why I give him slightly better chances.» Kasparov added that it does not matter how long a player prepares for the match — experience, as a rule, proves decisive.

Assessing the chances and criticism of Gukesh

Kasparov noted that at the Chess Olympiad Gukesh did not make a good impression, but a match against a single opponent is a completely different situation, and expectations for the encounter are high. The Indian player, according to Kasparov, prefers a defensive style — he can be compared to a tennis player operating from the baseline — which makes the outcome hard to predict. At the same time, Kasparov allowed that Sindarov will have chances of winning if he manages to seize the initiative.

Results after the victory over Ding Liren

Kasparov gave a harsh assessment of Gukesh's results after his victory over Ding Liren in the 2024 match. According to him, having reached a peak rating of 2794 points, in 2025 the Indian grandmaster lost a total of 43 points and finished 41st at the Grand Swiss tournament and was eliminated in the third round of the World Cup while playing as the top seed. Kasparov added that at the time, like Magnus Carlsen, he criticized Gukesh and still stands by that assessment.

On Carlsen and the changing chess map

In Kasparov's opinion, Magnus Carlsen, now 35, remains the strongest player in the world, although given his lifestyle and the number of tournaments, other strong players have emerged. Recalling his 1986 match with Anatoly Karpov, the former champion stressed that the goal then was to determine the world's strongest player, and since then title matches have not been held between the world's number one and number two, but he is glad that young players are now rising to the top.

Uzbekistan among the leaders of world chess

Kasparov noted that the geography of world chess has changed dramatically in recent years: only two Europeans remain in the top ten, there are several Americans of Asian descent, and the rest are representatives of India and Uzbekistan. «Of the last three Chess Olympiads, Uzbekistan won two and India won one. This clearly shows that the list of leading chess nations is now completely different from before,» he concluded.

Why it matters

Kasparov's assessment underscores that the Gukesh — Sindarov match directly concerns Uzbekistan: for the first time, an Uzbek player is contending for the world crown, and the country itself, according to the former champion, has already established itself among the leading chess nations after winning two of the last three Olympiads. For readers, this means that the outcome of the upcoming match will determine the first world champion from Uzbekistan if Sindarov wins, although Kasparov himself is cautious in his predictions and gives a slight edge to his opponent.