A look at the reigning world champion’s tournament activity, results and competitive form in the run-up to his title match with Javokhir Sindarov.
Gukesh’s six-month period was uneven. His strongest classical result came at the Chess Olympiad in September, where he scored 8½/11 and earned an individual silver medal. Before that, he had difficult results at Norway Chess and the Chennai Grand Masters. His rapid and blitz performances in Poland and Croatia were more mixed than dominant.
The contrast is important: Gukesh did not arrive at the end of this period with a long run of tournament victories, but the Olympiad offered evidence that he could still produce strong chess against elite opposition.
Gukesh finished sixth in the combined rapid and blitz standings. His rapid score was 4½/9 and his blitz score was 8/18. This was a respectable but not outstanding start to the period in faster time controls.
This was a difficult classical event. Gukesh finished last in the six-player field with 8/14 points under the tournament’s scoring system. He recorded three wins, four draws and seven losses across the classical and Armageddon games recorded in the event database. The result raised questions about his consistency, particularly against the strongest opposition.
Gukesh again finished sixth in the combined rapid and blitz standings. The event included a 5/9 rapid score and an 8½/18 blitz score. The results showed competitive moments, but not the sustained form needed to challenge for the title.
This was the low point of the period. Gukesh scored 2/7, with no wins, four draws and three losses. He finished last and lost rating points. Coming after the difficult Norway Chess result, it intensified questions about his classical form.
This was the clear high point of the six-month period. Playing on board four for India, Gukesh scored seven wins, three draws and one loss. He was India’s highest scorer and won the individual silver medal on his board. His wins included games against Alexei Shirov and Alexander Donchenko. India finished second in the team competition behind Uzbekistan.
| Event | Format | Finish / score |
|---|---|---|
| GCT Poland | Rapid & blitz | 6th |
| Norway Chess | Classical + Armageddon | 6th of 6 |
| GCT Croatia | Rapid & blitz | 6th |
| Chennai Grand Masters | Classical | 8th of 8 · 2/7 |
| Chess Olympiad | Classical team event | 8½/11 · individual silver |
Gukesh’s Olympiad score deserves special attention because it followed the disappointing Chennai tournament. His individual record was:
That 8½/11 score was a substantial response to the difficult summer. It does not erase the earlier results, but it shows that Gukesh could regain some rhythm and deliver consistently strong performances over a long team event.
Norway Chess and Chennai were both disappointing. The Chennai result was especially stark: no wins in seven games. A world champion preparing for a title match would naturally want more reliable results.
The 8½/11 Olympiad performance was the most persuasive positive sign. Gukesh won games, scored heavily and helped India take the team silver medal. It offered evidence of recovery rather than proof that every problem had disappeared.
Sixth-place finishes in Poland and Croatia suggest that rapid and blitz were not dominant parts of his season. They should be considered separately from his classical match preparation.
A World Championship match is a different test from a series of open tournaments. Preparation, opening choices, stamina, psychological resilience and the ability to respond after a loss can matter as much as recent tournament placement.
The 2026 World Championship match between defending champion Gukesh D and challenger Javokhir Sindarov is scheduled for November 24 to December 12 in the Geneva area of Switzerland. Both players will be 20 when the match begins.
The central question: Can Gukesh carry the confidence of his Olympiad recovery into the match, or will Sindarov’s strong run through the Candidates and subsequent events give the challenger the psychological edge?
Gukesh should not be judged solely by his sixth-place and last-place finishes. Equally, one strong Olympiad does not automatically establish that his earlier problems are solved. The match itself will provide the answer.