NEW DELHI: A pressure cooker may seem like a less flamboyant invention these days, especially with Elon Musk’s “flying cars” making the rounds on the internet. Yet, it remains a fascinating feat of human-led engineering, built on a simple principle of physics. Seal the vessel, trap the heat, and raise the internal pressure to allow temperatures that ordinary atmospheric conditions would not permit.In sports, defending a world title can have a similar effect on the human mind, can’t it?When you are chasing a championship, every win feels like free money. But once the lid seals and you’re holding the crown, every draw feels like a defense, every loss feels like a crisis, and the pressure cooker turns on.That psychological pressure cooker is the backdrop for next month’s World Championship match in Geneva.India’s Dommaraju Gukesh is that young champion struggling to rediscover his peak form. Meanwhile, 20-year-old Javokhir Sindarov enters with maximum momentum after tearing through the Candidates Tournament in Cyprus.Outwardly, it looks like a battle between a confident challenger and a champion under siege. But is there more to it? With less than a month remaining for the mega encounter, TimesofIndia.com today looks at what the world’s top grandmasters think about the 14-game duel ahead.
‘Sometimes it all comes down to one move’: Nepo
“They always say that match is very different to normal tournaments and that’s true,” former World Championship challenger and current Russian No. 1 Ian Nepomniachtchi told this website. “But if we see Gukesh’s progress for the past like couple of years I believe is pretty much negative. I don’t know what happened to him, honestly. And as for now, I think Sindarov is of course a clear favourite.”Nepomniachtchi feels that Gukesh’s last truly commanding performance was at Wijk aan Zee in early 2025, where he finished tied for first with fellow Indian Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa but lost the title on tiebreak. After that, it has been abysmal.
Ian Nepomniachtchi’s World Chess Championship Insight
Nevertheless, Nepo, now 36, also knows firsthand how quickly a match dynamic can shift once the clocks start ticking.“Once again, the match is very special, and if you manage to clinch one win (at the start), then you can sit behind your opening prep,” Nepomniachtchi added.“I think a good example is the Karjakin-Carlsen match. So no one expected Sergey to be like such a tough opponent for Magnus. But I think Sergey had a very, very fair chance to win… Sometimes it all comes down to one move.”
‘I expect Gukesh to be in a fighting mood’: Aronian
That psychological weight of wearing the champion’s armour so early in life is something veteran grandmaster Levon Aronian views with deep empathy.“Gukesh is a big fighter,” Aronian said in an interaction with TimesofIndia.com. “He has been a bit down, but I expect him to be in a fighting mood for the match. Of course, it’s tremendous pressure. You know, you’re so young and your lifetime dream just came too early. I think the same kind of thing happened to Mikhail Tal. He also became a world champion too early. And of course, it’s normal to be overwhelmed.
Levon Aronian on World Championship Pressure
“At the moment, people think that Gukesh is going to go and try to be very cautious, like in a similar style to how Ding (Liren) was doing against Nepomniachtchi, or also the way Ding was playing against Gukesh as well,” Aronian remarked. “There are so many choices to make, and it’s definitely going to be an interesting match from a strategical point. I expect Sindarov to be continuing playing very interesting chess the way he’s doing.“
‘Chess is a highly psychological game’: Carlsen
While Sindarov arrives with wind in his sails, five-time World Champion Magnus Carlsen believes the framing around Gukesh’s mindset needs a complete reset.“The word ‘defend’ is really not a good place to begin, because in terms of how Gukesh has played for the last couple of years, he should not be in a position where he has to defend anything,” Carlsen, when asked about Gukesh’s chances of defending the World Championship crown, explained. “He should be in a position where he has everything to gain.”
Magnus Carlsen shares his opinion
Emphasising that classical matches are deeply psychological, Carlsen also feels a single shift in momentum can completely rewrite expectations.“He (Gukesh) has shown previously in 2024 that when things click, he has the potential to play at an extremely high level,” the current World No. 1 added. “I don’t think a lot of people believe that he will do it now, but I think it’s even more of an interesting challenge for him to try and get back to that. Chess is a highly psychological game, so it probably won’t take a lot to potentially place some doubts in Sindarov’s mind and some confidence for Gukesh.“
‘Gukesh needs to arrive with a positive mindset’: MVL
Carlsen’s sentiment was echoed by French grandmaster Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, who senses that while Sindarov brings stability and form, Gukesh holds the key to how the match actually unfolds.“From Sindarov’s point of view, I think it’s clear that this year he has been quite successful,” MVL told TimesofIndia.com. “He has been very clutch, very calm, and very determined. So, he is not the variable. Gukesh is the variable.”
MVL makes World Championship prediction
Fresh off the Chess Olympiad, where Gukesh won two silver medals, 36-year-old MVL believes the Samarkand experience could well turn the tide for the Indian grandmaster.“I think, of course, all the talk is about how Gukesh has been struggling over the past few months,” MVL remarked. “And I do think he needs to arrive with a positive mindset because, chess-wise, if he plays at his best level, he is at least as good as Sindarov. Gukesh has been playing extremely well in the past two Olympiads. If he can use that to play well again, maybe this will be the way for him to get into a positive mindset before the match.“
‘Gukesh has enough time to regain his form’: Wei Yi
China’s top-ranked player, Wei Yi, who competed alongside Sindarov in Cyprus, cautioned against writing off the reigning champion based purely on recent rating points.“Yes, I also participated in the Candidates Tournament in Cyprus earlier this year,” Wei told TimesofIndia.com.“We all know that Sindarov ultimately won the tournament. He performed extremely well and secured first place with a commanding lead, clinching the title ahead of the final round. However, some people may feel that Gukesh has not been in particularly good form recently, and his rating has been declining. If he continues in this form, they might expect the World Championship match to be one-sided, with Sindarov winning comfortably. But I don’t think it will be that simple, because there is still time before the match. I believe Gukesh has enough time to regain his form, and I’m sure he has already started preparing.”
Wei Yi on upcoming World C’ship match
Wei pointed to a crucial factor that rating algorithms often miss.“I believe experience will be extremely important in a contest like this,” Wei added. “The World Championship match is different from any other tournament. Two players are fighting for the highest title in chess, and they have to face the same opponent over nearly a month, constantly thinking about how to defeat them. I think experience will certainly matter, and Gukesh clearly has an advantage in that respect.”
‘A real battle of minds between the two players’
Giving an update on Gukesh’s mentality after this Olympiad, GM Srinath Narayanan, who captained the Indian team in the open section at this 2026 Samarkand Olympiad, agreed that the unique format of match play acts as a great equaliser.“I think Gukesh is in a much better mental space after the Olympiad, because it was probably his first really good tournament in a long time,” Srinath told this website. “It will be close, not as one-sided as what the ratings reflect. Javokhir enters with a lot of confidence, and that can change if there’s an early good result for Gukesh.”
Srinath Narayanan on Gukesh’s state after Olympiad 2026
Srinath noted that while Sindarov’s opening preparation has looked formidable in recent months, but it will not matter much when he sits in Geneva later next month.“He’s also showing an incredible amount of opening preparation against other opponents, but in a World Championship match, this gets neutralised,” Srinath remarked. “Both players see everything the other has. There are factors going Javokhir’s way right now, but they can even out over a match. I think it’s going to be a very close, very interesting one.”
“I think it will be a close match probably,” Alireza Firouzja noted, keeping it short. “Anything could happen.”If anything, Geneva will not merely test engine lines and endgame technique, as Wei Yi concluded, “Personally, it will be a very close match. I can’t say for certain who will win, but regardless of who I think might win or who I want to win, I hope we get to see a fantastic contest, a real battle of minds between the two players.”
