A Resurgent Champion: As world title defence approaches, Gukesh seems to have rediscovered his winning touch

In sports, as in life, results often dictate perception. While discipline and consistency remain paramount, an erosion of confidence can trigger a steep slide where returning to the basics is the only viable remedy.

For reigning World Chess champion D Gukesh, the better part of the past 18 months has been turbulent. From holding the world No. 5 spot with a career-high rating of 2794, Gukesh plummeted out of the top 30 after his rating sank to 2703. With his world-title defence looming, whispers grew louder that the young champion was rapidly losing his aura among the chess elite.

Then came the Chess Olympiad, offering Gukesh a critical opportunity to reset.


Setting aside his previous gold-medal feats on Board 1 in 2022 and 2024, Gukesh anchored himself in the present. In accordance with team strategy — which assigned boards strictly by rating — he turned out on Board 4. The teenager delivered an emphatic response, scoring 8.5 points from 11 rounds with a staggering 2797 tournament performance rating. His resurgence helped propel second-seeded India to team silver, while securing him individual silver on Board 4.

More than the hardware, it restored the competitive conviction that had eluded him for months. Facing a crucial test, Gukesh pulled himself out of a prolonged trough and reminded the chess world of his calibre.

Though the opposition on lower boards was generally less formidable, the steady stream of victories rebuilt his confidence. His tactical masterclass against England, in particular, will stand among his finest games of recent months.

His steep rating drop has been one of the most pronounced slumps experienced by an active world champion, contrasting sharply with his historic rise. In late 2024, Gukesh reached the summit by defeating China’s Ding Liren 7½–6½ — logging three wins, two losses, and nine draws — to become the youngest undisputed classical world champion in history. Yet, that pinnacle marked the onset of a volatile stretch.

After sliding from 2783 in late 2024 to 2777 in early 2025, Gukesh offered glimpses of recovery. At the 2025 Tata Steel Masters, he scored 8½/13 to tie for first before falling in the blitz playoff to R Praggnanandhaa, gaining roughly 10 classical rating points.

Norway Chess soon painted a more turbulent picture: despite securing his maiden classical victory over Magnus Carlsen, inconsistent play (four wins, four losses, two draws) kept him grounded.

The second half of 2025 proved particularly bruising. At the FIDE Grand Swiss, he slumped to 41st place with a 4–4–3 scoreline. His loss to 16-year-old Abhimanyu Mishra made history, as Mishra became the youngest player ever to defeat a reigning world champion in classical chess. Successive defeats against lower-rated grandmasters like Nikolas Theodorou and Ediz Gürel further accelerated his slide.

Brief respites arrived, such as the European Club Cup, where Gukesh spearheaded SuperChess to the team title, clinching Board 1 gold with an imperious 2927 rating performance (3 wins, 2 draws). Yet home soil brought little comfort. In his first domestic outing as world champion at the World Cup in Panaji, he exited early in the third round against Germany’s Frederik Svane.

Subsequent outings compounded the deficit. A 10th-place finish at Wijk aan Zee was followed by a disappointing ninth-place finish at the Prague Masters, where a solitary win against three losses yielded a sub-par 2626 performance rating. The nadir arrived at the Chennai Grand Masters: playing in his hometown, the world champion remained winless across seven rounds, shedding 14 more points to settle at 2703.

Ultimately, Gukesh’s 91-point slide reflects extreme volatility rather than terminal decline. On any given day, he remained capable of dismantling titans like Magnus Carlsen, Levon Aronian, Anish Giri, and Vincent Keymer with 2800-plus mastery; on others, costly blunders led to unexpected upsets against emerging talents and domestic rivals.

The Olympiad has provided Gukesh with a crucial breath of fresh air. With confidence restored and momentum shifting, that familiar, triumphant smile is back.