The preliminaries are nearly over: who will win? I expect Gukesh to be cautious in the first few games, then to probe and push hard in the middle of the match. Ding’s 2024 form has been so wretched that it is difficult to see how he can keep his title. A 7.5-4.5 margin for Gukesh looks about right. From the middle of the 16th century, there have come down to us the names of chess players who have been widely regarded as the strongest of their time. The earliest of these was the Spanish priest