Magnus Carlsen no longer untouchable as world No 1, says Russian Grandmaster: 'Gap is not as wide as it used to be'

Magnus Carlsen has ruled chess for more than a decade now. The Norwegian Grandmaster had first risen to the top of the Fide rankings in 2010 and has occupied that spot continuously since 2011. A couple of years later, he would win the World Championship for the first time and successfully defended it four times before voluntarily the title in 2022.

Carlsen has had many a challenger for the top spot along the way, from American heavyweights Fabiano Caruana and Hikaru Nakamura to Indian GM D Gukesh, who had become the youngest world champion in December 2024. And while he has suffered a few hiccups in recent months, the 35-year-old remains the best player in the world.

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Russian GM Peter Svidler, however, doesn't believe Carlsen's dominance will remain unchallenged for too long. Speaking on the Chess with Mustreader podcast on YouTube, the 49-year-old explained that while Carlsen remains the best player in the world, the gap between him and other players is quickly closing, especially with the rise of younger players such as Nodirbek Abdusattorov, R Praggnanandhaa and others.

"We are in a strange spot as a game right now. His dominance is perhaps less pronounced (than) during some of his best years, where really nobody could touch him," Svidler, who had defeated Carlsen during the 2013 Candidates, said in the podcast.

"I really like the current crop. Things that Nodirbek is showing right now, or Pragg for the most part of 2025. It feels like they are getting better at such a rate, and they’re still incredibly young," he continued.

Carlsen likely to face 'very dangerous opponents' soon, says Svidler

Svidler further revealed that he used to believe Carlsen would remain No 1 for as long as he wished, but doesn't think that's the case anymore.

"I wanted to say Magnus will be number one for as long as he cares to be number one. It seems like a reasonable answer for a moment there and then I thought, ‘I’m not a hundred per cent sure that’s true anymore’. Because I think some of these guys might actually get to a point where they will be very, very dangerous opponents for him. Even if he does refocus and decides that it matters a great deal for him to stay at the top.

"The gap is not as wide as it used to be, for sure. But I would still take him over pretty much anybody you could put up against. And I think it’s probably going to be true for a bit, for a couple of years for sure. Maybe longer," the former world No 4 added.

While Carlsen is semi-retired from the Classical format, he continues to play Rapid and Blitz tournament and is the reigning world champion in both categories. He had also won the inaugural Fide Freestyle Chess World Championship in February, taking his world title count across formats to 21.