GM Fabiano Caruana, the erudite American, has always been a straight talker. And he certainly didn't sugarcoat his assessment of GM Gukesh D.
"Since then, it has been a series of disappointing events for him, undoubtedly," Caruana said of the World Champion's results since his strong showing at Tata Steel in January 2025.
But the world number three isn't writing Gukesh off, far from it.
"The kind of ability he had—or has, whatever you want to say—it doesn't disappear overnight," he said.
"So, in my opinion, it can reverse at any moment."
Speaking on the returning C-Squared Podcast, Caruana was discussing Gukesh's form ahead of two huge tests for the 20-year-old.
Watch the full podcast here:
Gukesh heads first to the Chess Olympiad in Samarkand before facing GM Javokhir Sindarov in their World Championship match in Geneva from November 24.
Gukesh became the youngest undisputed World Champion in history when he defeated Ding Liren in Singapore in December 2024.
He followed that with a strong Tata Steel Masters in January 2025, finishing joint first before losing a playoff to GM Praggnanandhaa R.
But the results since then have been markedly different.
"Everything was going great up to then," Caruana said. "He became a world champion, fully deserved."
Caruana also suggested the approaching World Championship could itself help Gukesh find another gear.
"Certainly his confidence can't be super high right now," he said.
"But maybe working recently towards a match will, you know—usually that's good for your chess. Maybe it will bring back his form."
The comments come at an intriguing moment.
Gukesh and Sindarov will both play at the 2026 FIDE Olympiad in Samarkand, giving the two Geneva World Championship rivals one final major outing before they meet for the title.
And Caruana believes Sindarov is currently heading in the opposite direction to the champion.
"If we go by recent form then Uzbekistan—both Nodirbek and Javokhir are in great form," he said.
Of Gukesh, Caruana said: "His form hasn't been there but that can change any moment."
Sindarov has already said he is paying little attention to Gukesh's recent results and expects to face the World Champion at his best.
Caruana appears to agree that writing Gukesh off would be a mistake.
"Gukesh can always turn on the heat," he said.
The Olympiad now gives the World Champion his next chance to do exactly that.