Anish Giri accuses Gukesh's coach of running PR campaigns in favour of world champion: 'Another chess coach taking up...'

Dutch grandmaster Anish Giri has taken a dig at Gukesh Dommaraju’s coach Grzegorz Gajewski after the Polish trainer strongly defended the reigning World Champion against criticism from several chess legends.

The controversy started after Gajewski gave an interview to Hindustan Times in which he backed Gukesh amid concerns over the Indian star's recent form. The coach suggested that some of the criticism from former champions and top players could be influenced by frustration over Gukesh's achievements at a young age.

Responding to those remarks on social media, Giri posted a short but sharp message on X. "Another chess coach taking up the noble role of a PR manager," Giri wrote, accusing Gajewski of acting more like a public relations representative than a coach.

What did Gajewski say?

Gajewski had earlier defended Gukesh against comments made by several chess greats, including Garry Kasparov, Magnus Carlsen, and Ian Nepomniachtchi. He argued that the 20-year-old had achieved something many legendary players could not by becoming the youngest World Champion in history.

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“Garry Kasparov, Magnus Carlsen, Anatoly Karpov and others, they are all great players. They have egos and Gukesh is a young kid who has, in a way, outperformed all of them,” Gajewski said.

Gajewski also spoke about Nepomniachtchi, who lost two World Championship matches despite coming close to the title multiple times. He said it was understandable that some players might find it difficult to accept how quickly youngsters like Gukesh and Javokhir Sindarov have risen to the top.

“The first time Gukesh got a chance to play the Candidates, he won it right away. Then he became world champion right away,” Gajewski said while explaining his point.

Gukesh is currently facing one of the toughest periods of his career. The Indian grandmaster has struggled for form since winning the World Championship against Ding Liren in 2024 and is currently near the bottom of the standings at Norway Chess 2026 after four rounds.

Despite the recent results, Gukesh remains the reigning World Champion and is expected to defend his title later this year against 2026 Candidates winner Javokhir Sindarov, who appears to have a slight edge at the moment.