Still expect it to be a one-sided event

VEN though I do not believe as highly as I did in September that the World Championship between China's Ding Liren and teammate D Gukesh will be a massacre, I still think that it will be a one-sided event.

- ARJUN ERIGAISI

This is because Gukesh was in stellar form then with almost zero bad results except for the European Club Chess (ECC) 2024 in London in October. After all, he is also human and could have bad results too. I am confident that Gukesh will definitely try to exert maximum pressure right from the start. It might be possible that he will feel some nerves at the start, but I believe that after some games, he will adjust to it. Nevertheless, I would advise him to not count himself as a huge favourite going into the Championship because it might lead to being overconfident and make him take things easily.

I believe Gukesh would just focus on his preparation just like I do. We both enjoy chess and that is the most important thing to do.