"Sindarov's form can come to an end. And Gukesh's current form can come to an end. Never forget that" — Viswanathan Anand

Viswanathan Anand

15th World Champion

“[Question: How much should we read into form going into a World Championship?]

Form is a very helpful indicator. Because sometimes it might just indicate strength. We forget that, we think everything is momentum-driven, but sometimes it may simply indicate that someone is very, very strong.

Having said that, we have seen Sindarov at his best. We have seen Gukesh at his best. You know, Sindarov’s form can come to an end. And Gukesh’s current form can come to an end. Never forget that.

And these things are always in your control a little bit. When you’re in bad shape, you focus on doing one thing better, then you focus on doing another thing better, and suddenly, the end of the tunnel comes. So, you have to have that attitude. Everything goes in a cycle.

Ding was not in good shape generally. Also, he was kind of frustrated with life. But he turned up and played a great match. But with big swings, you can see he struggled with some things there.

I think in Gukesh’s case, there’s nothing special. I think he’s simply dealing with the pressure and responsibility of being World Champion. Maybe the expectations were misaligned and so on.

We know what he’s capable of. And I think he just has to try and get there and play in good shape.”