American GM Fabiano Caruana shared his thoughts on the recent results of elite Indian chess players. Caruana says their current losses represent a small sample size, and states that Gukesh, Pragg, and Arjun will be top players for a long time.

Fabiano Caruana

Fabiano Caruana

World No. 3

“Why have Gukesh and other Indian players’ performances declined? I think it’s a small sample size, a short period of time.

Speaking of Gukesh, Pragg, and Arjun — Pragg won a lot of tournaments in 2025, and Arjun and Gukesh played phenomenally in 2024. Gukesh was essentially the best player in the world that year. I think Gukesh, Pragg, and Arjun will be top players for many years, perhaps decades, to come.

I don’t read too much into it. For Gukesh, of course, it’s concerning — he has a very important event coming up at the end of the year, and he’s the only person in the world guaranteed to play there. It can’t feel nice to be playing poorly, but I still consider him a top-level player. Even though his last year really wasn’t his best.”

World Champion Gukesh Dommaraju (2748) has experienced a dip in performance throughout 2025 and early 2026. Gukesh finished in 41th place at the FIDE Grand Swiss 2025, was eliminated in the third round of the FIDE World Cup 2025, finished 9th at the Tata Steel Chess 2026, and currently in last place at the Prague Chess Masters 2026.

Credit: Michal Walusza