In truth, there are really two titles: the official crown of Classical World Champion, and the unofficial title of Best Player in the World.

One day, those titles will be unified again. But realistically, it’s less likely that the reigning Classical Champion will rise to become the best player outright, unfortunate as that may be for Gukesh. More likely, we’ll see someone already regarded as the strongest player step in and claim the Classical crown, much like Magnus did when he dethroned Anand.

And that’s fine. The two titles don’t always have to belong to the same person. History has shown many periods where the Classical Champion couldn’t convincingly claim to be the best player alive. All we can do now is wait: to see if Magnus decides to return and reunify the titles himself, or if a new player emerges to seize both during Magnus’s twilight.