World Chess Championships: Magnus Carlsen says Gukesh no longer the favourite – ‘Pure 50-50 at this point’ | Chess News

World Champion Ding Liren and Gukesh played out their sixth consecutive draw in what turned out to be the most uninspiring game of their battle so far. Both players have 4.5 points each after nine games, with five more games remaining before tiebreaks, which will be played in rapid format.
Five-time world champion Magnus Carlsen, who has been following the proceedings closely, believes that D Gukesh has now lost his edge and is no longer the favourite.
“We have finally arrived at a point where Gukesh is not a favourite in this match anymore. We have a pure 50-50 match at this point,” Carlsen mentioned on a YouTube show called Take Take Take, an app he is promoting along with content creator Levy Rozman.
Former world champions like Vladimir Kramnik and Magnus Carlsen have been critical of the gameplay during this World Championship in their YouTube recap videos. Most experts remain unimpressed.
“If Gukesh had been more vigilant or more accurate, he could have put Ding under pressure here,” the 5-time world champion Carlsen said while looking at a particular position in Game 9.

“This is what he’s done wrong. When Ding has little time, he has sort of forced Ding to play well,” Carlsen said about the 18-year-old Indian. “It is easier to say in hindsight, but I think Gukesh could have done a little better to keep the tension in a position that is objectively drawn, but at the moment not completely equal. I think he made it a little too easy for Ding.”