India, July 19 -- Magnus Carlsen is still the current world No. 1 and his position as the best chess player is still obvious, but his authority has been challenged this year, especially from the young crop of Indian Grandmasters. Carlsen has been facing the heat, especially since he criticised D Gukesh's World Championship victory over Ding Liren, downplaying the quality of the showdown.

Carlsen has also been at war with FIDE, and also took shots at Viswanathan Anand, who is vice-president. At Norway Chess, Carlsen eased past Gukesh in the opener, but then the Indian GM had the last laugh. He responded in style in a later round to beat Carlsen, but it wasn't enough as the Norwegian won the competition. The Round 6 defeat also saw Carlsen...