‘His aim is to become number 1’: Gukesh’s grandfather after world champion defeats Magnus Carlsen in Norway Chess

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D Gukesh grandfather Magnus Carlsen World Champion Gukesh Dommaraju taking on Magnus Carlsen at Norway Chess 2025 in Stavanger. (PHOTO: Michal Walusza via Norway Chess)

After world champion D Gukesh defeated Magnus Carlsen at the Norway Chess in the wee hours of Sunday, his grandfather Shankar Rajesh said that he was proud of his grandson, adding that it was the teenager’s dream to be World No. 1.

“We are very proud of him. He is improving day by day. His aim is to become number 1. This is one of the proudest moments, beating World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen,” Rajesh as per ANI.

On Carlsen’s post-match outburst, which saw him bang the table out of frustration and send some pieces falling down, Shankar said that it is natural. He added further on Gukesh’s win: “One of Gukesh’s major achievements is that he has now beaten Magnus Carlsen as well. There is no pressure on him now. He will be relaxed and he will be practising…”

#WATCH | Chennai, TN: On World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen's reaction after D Gukesh defeated him in the 6th round of Norway Chess 2025, World Chess Champion D Gukesh's grandfather, Shankar Rajesh, says "That's natural. One of the major achievements for Gukesh is that he has now beaten… pic.twitter.com/tKDT54tjyn

— ANI (@ANI) June 2, 2025

On Sunday, D Gukesh pounced on a blunder by the world no.1 Carlsen to defeat him for the first time in a classical game in Round 6 of Norway Chess. The win propelled 19-year-old Gukesh to third position with 8.5 points and he is just one point shy of joint leaders Carlsen and American Grandmaster Fabiano Caruana.

Five-time world champion Carlsen seemed to have the upper hand almost throughout the four-hour-long contest but a critical mistake in time trouble allowed Gukesh to turn the tables on the Norwegian and secure a remarkable win.

Carlsen realised his mistake but by then it was too late. The Norwegian star vented his frustration by banging on the table, which threw the chess pieces in disarray. Disbelief and frustration writ large on his face as he shook hands with Gukesh before placing all the pieces on the board and walking away patting the winner on the back.

“First Classical win over Magnus, not the way I expected (or) wanted it to be but I will take it. I was just trying to make moves (today) which kind of were tricky for him and, luckily, he got into a time scramble. One thing I learned from this tournament was time scrambles can go out of control,” said Gukesh.

(With agency inputs)

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