World No 1 Magnus Carlsen has said that Gukesh is strongest classical player, while Praggnanandhaa and Nodirbek Abdusattorov are strong but also mentality monsters.

“It’s funny that I faced zero players in their prime. I played Chuky (Vasyl Ivanchuk) and then I played three youngsters. So, yeah, obviously there are very strong. I felt like I had my best day and game of the event against Gukesh on the first day. Otherwise, that match would’ve been extremely tough. As for the others, they are very strong,” Carlsen said.

“Gukesh is clearly the strongest classical player right now. And then, you have Pragg (Praggnanandhaa) and (Nodirbek) Abdusattorov who are strong but also mentality monsters. And then, I think on a tier slightly below, we have Vincent and a few others,” he added.

“But what I think is pretty clear is that chess is in good hands for the future. The generation of players, born from 1990-1994 really have dominated for a long time, and finally now, with these youngsters born in 2003 and after, we have a generation that’s worthy of succeeding us,” the World No 1 further said.

Carlsen defeated Praggnanandhaa in a tie-breaker in the final to win the Chess World Cup 2023. The two classical time control games had ended in draws in the first two days of the final.

Carlsen had beaten Gukesh in the quarter-final. As many as 4 Indians reached the quarter-finals of the Chess World Cup.