D Gukesh told to fix two weaknesses ahead of World Chess Championship clash vs Sindarov: 'He often gets into...'

World chess champion D Gukesh has received some stern advice from Indian Grandmaster Krishnan Sasikiran as the 20-year-old gets ready to defend his crown against Javokhir Sindarov of Uzbekistan later this year. The youngest world chess champion, Gukesh of India, hasn't been enjoying the best of form lately.

Amid the search for rhythm, Gukesh will be playing against Sindarov in the World Chess Championship, most likely between 23 November and 17 December.

Gukesh sent stern advice before world title clash

While Gukesh has failed to win a major tournament since winning the 2025 World Chess Championship, Krishnan Sasikiran, who was five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand's second during the 2013 and 2014 world title matches against Magnus Carlsen, feels the Chennai Grandmaster needs to improve his calculation pace and technique to defend his crown.

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Noting that Gukesh has a tendency to create difficult positions, Sasikiran, who also hails from Chennai, asked the world chess champion to improve his calculation speed to stay away from time trouble in difficult situations.

"Sometimes Gukesh takes too much risk by his unconventional play, creating chaos and imbalance ... in a sense, he wants to let things go out of control, it does not matter if the position is completely in chaos," Sasikiran told news agency PTI.

"He is a champion of that kind of a game but he often gets into time trouble. So, one thing I'd advise him to concentrate on is speeding up his calculation, he definitely needs to speed up, because you don't want to consistently find yourself in a scenario where your opponent is driving you into time trouble."

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Sasikiran also underlined that the 2026 FIDE Candidates winner Sindarov can be put under pressure by earning a stronger position in the endgame, a scenario where the Uzbek has shown signs of weakness.

"Sindarov is very well prepared; you can clearly see that. However, in some games, I get the impression that he struggles slightly in positions where his opponent has a marginally better endgame and is able to keep pressing without taking risks. This is actually the case for almost all players. When your opponent has a slightly better endgame and can continue to press without risk, it becomes very difficult for any chess player to defend," Sasikiran said.

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Sasikiran added a second piece of advice for Gukesh as he asked him to improve his technique, essentially stating that the young chess star needs to develop a stronger understanding of the moves, which would help him play flawless games rather than messy victories that he is known for.

"Gukesh is known to occasionally let technical positions slip. So technique is one area that definitely needs improvement. His technique has to be at a very high level. If he gains an advantage from the opening, he needs to convert it with exceptional accuracy. He cannot afford to let those opportunities slip away. In some games, he has done exactly that.

"Even in the Candidates Tournament, I felt Gukesh missed a few chances to convert technically winning positions. That is one area he certainly needs to work on - converting advantages in technical positions without making any mistakes. At that level, even the smallest nuances matter. You have to understand every little detail. That is definitely one area Gukesh needs to improve, and we will see how it goes," he said.