Magnus Carlsen, the reigning world champion, said he wasn't part of "this circus anymore" and congratulated D Gukesh, the 18-year-old Indian Grandmaster, on his incredible achievement.
Gukesh became the youngest world champion on Thursday after defeating Ding Liren in 58 moves in the final Classical game of the 2024 FIDE World Championship in Singapore, winning the 'Best of 14 Games' series with 7.5-6.5.
Gukesh said he would love to play "against the best player in the world" in the "toughest challenge there is in chess" after his Singapore win and emotional celebrations.
Carlsen resigned as chess world champion last year after a decade since defeating Viswanathan Anand in 2013. In response to Gukesh's comments in the press conference after Game 14 of the World Championship on Thursday, the 34-year-old said he was unlikely to return to the sport's biggest event.
However, Carlsen called Gukesh's feat "incredible achievement". Gukesh became the second Indian after Anand to win the world title and the youngest player ever, breaking Garry Kasparov's 1985 record.
"It's an incredible achievement (by Gukesh), first he was down in the FIDE circuit, won the tournament in Chennai on demand, then he had an amazing performance in the Candidates tournament," he said.
A day after his dramatic win over Ding, Gukesh became the 18th chess world champion on Friday, receiving a medal, trophy, and US$1.3 million.