'They know how to make content': Viswanathan Anand takes a dig at Gukesh's critics

D Gukesh become the youngest World Chess Champion by defeating Chinese rival Ding Liren in December last year. The spotlight has been on the teenager ever since the triumph, with the success being hailed by fans and experts. However, a section of people also criticised the quality of the World Championship and felt that the Indian Grandmaster did not deserve the title.

Recently, Nodirbek Abdusattorov's comments on Gukesh caught everyone's attention. In a social media video posted by FIDE, which has now gone viral, the Uzbekistan GM predicted that Gukesh would fail to defend his World Chess Championship title next year.

The 19-year-old Gukesh had responded to the claim, saying, "I mean, first of all, obviously, Nodirbek Abdusattorov is a great player and he's very much capable, but (at this) the tournament he can only qualify for the Candidates, so it's one more step to become world champion."


"But whoever it is like, I am sure you know deserves to be there and is very much capable of playing well. I am not really rooting for anybody, I just do my part as a researcher," he added.

Following the controversy, Indian legend Viswanathan Anand reacted to Nodirbek's claim during Chess.com's India live stream of Round 1 of FIDE Grand Swiss.

Anand said, “Yes, I am aware of it. It's been suggested to me a lot. It keeps popping up on all my feeds. Respect to these boys. They know how to make content.”

"He is so innocent, no? Is that controversial? No it's good fun. That's how the game is played these days," he added.