World No. 1 chess player Magnus Carlsen left a witty yet heartfelt message for world champion D Gukesh, who turned 20 on Friday.
The Carlsen vs Gukesh battle has been one to look forward to, with the latter losing his last match as a teenager to Carlsen on Thursday.
In a clip shared by Norway Chess, Carlsen teased the reigning world champion as he celebrated his 20th birthday.
“Very happy birthday to Gukesh. You’re not a teenager anymore; time to grow up,” Carlsen said.
Happy Birthday, World Champion Gukesh! 🤗 pic.twitter.com/f3SnEwwJnf
— Norway Chess (@NorwayChess) May 29, 2026
“So hi, Gukesh. Happy birthday to you. Have good health and long life,” R Praggnanandhaa said.
“Many happy returns of the day, Gukesh. So now you have just moved on from being
a teenager to celebrating your 20th birthday and I wish you all the best in all your endeavours and we all are proud of you,” Koneru Humpy said.
Meanwhile, Carlsen, who had made a sluggish start to the tournament, climbed from the bottom of the standings to sole fourth place with 4.5 points after bagging three full points.
On the other hand, a dejected Gukesh exited the playing hall through a side door, leaving behind multiple young fans waiting for autographs.
At the bottom of the standings is reigning world champion Gukesh on 3.5 points, with the tournament threatening to become another disappointing campaign for the young Indian ahead of his world title defence against challenger Javokhir Sindarov later this year.
There were no table slams or dramatic ‘Oh my God!’ reactions from Carlsen this time, unlike his emotional loss to Gukesh last year, as the Norwegian great converted his advantage with the black pieces.
“I would not say I was super-motivated today. I kind of had enough after playing really poorly for three days in a row with very little time. Today, I did not have a lot of expectations, but I was happy with the way things went in the opening,” Carlsen said.
