In a powerful message for the Indian chess sensation, industrialist Anand Mahindra hailed Gukesh Dommaraju for his calm victory over five-time world champion Magnus Carlsen, saying the Indian Grandmaster’s silent composure was louder than the Norwegian legend’s visible frustration.
Calling Carlsen ‘GOAT’, Mahindra shared a clip of the former slamming his fist into a table after suffering his first defeat by Gukesh in a classical game in Stavanger during the Norway Chess 2025 tournament. “His silence roared louder than Carlsen’s exit,” Mahindra wrote in a post on X.
“Carlsen’s visible frustration at the end wasn’t just a tantrum — it was the greatest compliment the World Champion could receive from the GOAT. No fist pump. No smirk. Gukesh didn’t need one. His silence roared louder than Carlsen’s exit,” he wrote.
Carlsen’s viral reaction after losing to Gukesh
On Sunday, Carlsen had his opponent on the ropes for much of the match in the Norway Chess 2025 tournament but his composure cracked under the pressure of a ticking clock and he committed a blunder that handed India’s Gukesh a decisive advantage, a Reuters report said.
Carlsen slammed his fist on the table after the defeat before exchanging a quick handshake with Gukesh, apologising for his outburst and storming off.
Magnus Carlsen‘s outburst left Gukesh shell-shocked on Sunday, although the world champion said he also sometimes loses his temper over the board.
“I mean, (the win was) not the way I wanted it to be, but okay, I’ll take it,” Gukesh told Chess.com.
“… I’ve also banged a lot of tables in my career.”
Carlsen hails Gukesh for his fighting spirit
Carlsen hailed the reigning world champion Gukesh for his “fighting spirit” and praised him for capitalising on the opportunity during their encounter in the ongoing Norway Chess 2025.
Carlsen had an upper hand over Gukesh for most of the match, but in the end, he couldn’t control his nerves, and the teenager turned the tables around and went on to win the match.
“I think like I remember being at that age myself. Sometimes our energy and fighting qualities is bigger than the quality of your moves. So for a long time, he was more or less blindly pushing, and then on a normal day, I won that game, and things work quite differently. The thing he does well is he really fights very well. He was there to take his chance, and he deserves credit for that, but that’s the kind of chance that I really have to put away; otherwise, I have no chance,” Magnus Carlsen told ANI after his win over Hikaru Nakamura on Monday.
The 19-year-old world champion also became the second Indian player to beat Carlsen in the competition’s history after grandmaster Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa. Following the win, Gukesh had jumped to third spot in the Norway Chess 2025 points table with 8.5 points, and now he is just one point behind Carlsen and American Fabiano Caruana.
(With inputs from agencies)
