Gukesh shouldn’t be called No. 1: Shirov questions use of ‘World Champion’ title

D Gukesh

Alexei Shirov believes chess should rethink the way it uses the term “World Champion”, suggesting the sport could adopt a system similar to tennis.The Spanish grandmaster made the comments while discussing India’s D Gukesh and the status attached to the classical world title.

“Nothing against Gukesh, maybe we shouldn’t use words like World Champion. Chess should be like tennis,” Shirov said.Gukesh became the youngest undisputed world champion after defeating Ding Liren in the 2024 World Championship match in Singapore. He is currently the reigning FIDE world champion.Shirov’s comments come amid an ongoing debate in chess over what the title of world champion represents in a sport where players compete across several formats and events throughout the year.Unlike tennis, where Grand Slam champions are identified by their individual tournament victories and there is no single player officially recognised as the world champion, classical chess has a designated world champion determined through the FIDE championship cycle.

Shirov, a former world championship candidate himself, has previously been involved in the title race. He defeated Vladimir Kramnik in a 1998 qualification match to earn the right to challenge Garry Kasparov, but the proposed world championship match between Kasparov and Shirov never took place.

His remarks come during the Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, where Gukesh is representing the reigning champions India.In the sixth round, India suffered a 1.5-2.5 defeat to hosts Uzbekistan in the first major clash between the top contenders. Nihal Sarin lost to Nodirbek Yakubboev, while Gukesh drew with Shamsiddin Vokhidov. R Praggnanandhaa and Arjun Erigaisi also drew their games against Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Javokhir Sindarov respectively.The defeat left India on 10 match points, while Uzbekistan moved to 12 and took sole possession of the lead.