Magnus Carlsen added a note of caution to his support for D Gukesh, saying that Ding Liren could prove quite a handful for the 18-year-old GM from Chennai if he’s able to regain his form in Singapore

Magnus Carlsen believes Indian chess prodigy D Gukesh is the favorite to win against Ding Liren at the upcoming World Chess Championship. While Gukesh has been in remarkable form, Carlsen cautions about pressure at this level.

World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen of Norway feels that on current form Indian star D Gukesh is the favourite to win the World Chess Championship title against Ding Liren of China in the summit clash beginning later this month.

Barely a couple of weeks away from the FIDE World Championship match in Singapore, defending champion Ding Liren of China has admitted that he is 'worried about losing very badly' to India's D Gukesh. "I'm worried about losing very badly. Hopefully, it won't happen," Ding said in an interview posted on chess app Take Take Take 's YouTube channel.

Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhhaa said D Gukesh is the favourite for the World Chess Championship against Ding Liren due to his current good form.

World champion Ding Liren believes he will go into the world chess championship as the underdog. But added that he's hoping to become a "totally different player" so that he could "slow down Gukesh's