'It's Like You're Playing Against God': D Gukesh On Facing Viswanathan Anand

Last Updated:December 25, 2025, 14:02 IST

Current world champion D Gukesh recently faced the legendary Viswanathan Anand multiple times during a tournament.

D Gukesh (left) and Viswanathan Anand (PTI Photo)

Reigning world champion D. Gukesh ended his Global Chess League campaign with a win over mentor and idol Viswanathan Anand, a five-time world champion. It was the first time in the recently concluded GCL that Gukesh, the youngest world champion in history, managed to get the better of Anand after two defeats and as many draws.

Representing Alaskan Knights, Gukesh defeated Anand of Ganges Grandmasters in the final blitz game to help his team finish third in the standings.

The 19-year-old opened up on how he struggled to trigger his “killer instinct" against someone he has “too much" respect for.

“It’s kind of tricky to play against him, is what I realised. For me, it’s like you’re playing against God. I’ve always seen him in that sense. So, when playing against him, I have to bring up this killer instinct, which is kind of tough to bring against him. I just have too much respect for him, I think," the teenager told GCL.

“He was also playing quite sharp. Obviously, I had at least three winning positions, and then he was just playing very fast. I kind of hesitated here and there, and then in blitz, you know how it goes – it just goes like that. But okay, luckily, at least in the final game, I didn’t lose," he added.

Since becoming the world champion last year in December, Gukesh hasn’t been able to live up to the reputation in 2025. He was knocked out of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam and had a forgettable outing at the FIDE Grand Swiss. He suffered a stunning third-round exit at the FIDE World Cup in Goa.

Among the few bright spots this year for the Indian chess star was a victory over world No. 1 Magnus Carlsen in Norway Chess and the European Club Cup triumph in October, where he won the individual gold.

Recently, Anand backed Gukesh to leave behind the turbulent phase.

“Setbacks are just inevitable in that sense. And I think Gukesh’s crisis probably has more to do with the demands of social media than with his chess. His chess is fine. He would want better results in some of the formats, but this is not a crisis as such. It’s the nature of the game," he told Hindustan Times.

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