World Chess Champ Gukesh Scales Back Schedule After Poor Run of Form
He's the youngest World Chess Champion in history, and he's feeling the pressure.
On Tuesday the well-documented woes of GM Gukesh D reached a critical point when it was revealed he is taking time out to rediscover his form before his title defence later this year.
As the elite gather in Cyprus to fight for the right to challenge him, the Grand Chess Tour (GCT) announced India's 19-year-old star will not take part in this year's full Grand Chess Tour (GCT).
Instead, he will only join up in June for the Rapid & Blitz tournaments in Warsaw and Zagreb as a wildcard player.
It is a major blow for the tour organisers; but they do have a big name lined up to replace him. Another teen sensation, Uzbek GM Javokhir Sindarov, will step in to join the 2026 Grand Chess Tour as a full tour participant.
Sindarov, the reigning FIDE World Cup champion, is in Cyprus as one of the eight players bidding for a shot at Gukesh's world title. By the time the GCT tour comes around, Sindarov could be Gukesh's rightful challenger.
As for Gukesh, if your first thought is he's withdrawn because he prefers to play in the Esports World Cup, which has a schedule clash with the GCT, it appears you are wrong. Gukesh has said he intends to duck out of all big events away from home.
In a statement, Gukesh shared: "My performance in the last few events has been quite disappointing, not just for me, but for all of you who support me. In order to find my best form my team and I have decided that I should compete with slightly less intensity over the next few months.
"Consequently, we feel it is in my best interest to skip long events away from home to allow for more dedicated training time.
"With this in mind, I approached the Grand Chess Tour organizers and asked to play only two European Rapid & Blitz events.
"They were very supportive and understanding, and we agreed that I would participate in the Rapid & Blitz tournaments in Warsaw and Zagreb this year. I’m very grateful for their support.
"Respectfully, I am not planning to play any other events during the Grand Chess Tour schedule and will certainly be back for the full Grand Chess Tour in the future."
Gukesh was everywhere in 2025—entering nearly every big event going. However, his results have fallen off a cliff.
The 19-year-old has had a rough start to 2026, finishing joint-bottom at the Prague Masters at the start of March and endured a poor outing at Tata Steel Chess in January.
In Prague, he suffered three defeats, lost 19.5 rating points and dropped to 20th place in the live ratings list compiled by Chess2700.com. He is current;y 15th.
One of those defeats early in the tournament saw Gukesh fail to hit the clock, losing valuable time, in a strange blunder-of-sorts against Dutch GM Jorden Van Foreest.
Gukesh also suffered losses at Wijk aan Zee to GMs Anish Giri and Matthias Bluebaum, two players battling in the Candidates tournament with Sindarov to earn the right to challenge him. The other was another loss to his fierce rival GM Nodirbek Abdusuttorov after another uncharacteristic blunder from a position of strength.
Gukesh has lost six classical games in 2026 and so far won only three. It is not a good look for world champion.
Yet, the reigning world champion pulling out remains a blow to the GCT—even if the organisers will suggest otherwise.
Alex Onischuk, the Deputy Executive Director of GCT, said: "We respect Gukesh's decision and welcome his participation in the Rapid & Blitz events in Warsaw and Zagreb.
"At the same time, we’re excited to have Javokhir Sindarov join the full Tour. He has demonstrated exceptional form at the highest level, and we look forward to his participation throughout the 2026 season."
We hope to see Gukesh back at the board, and back on form, sooner rather than later.