India, May 26 -- Reigning world champion D Gukesh is not ruffled by the barrage of criticism that has come his way in the past 18 months, as the young Indian Grandmaster believes all of it is justified, given his underwhelming form.

Gukesh, who will turn 20 on May 29, is here to compete in the Norway Chess Tournament and opens his campaign against Germany's Vincent Keymer on Monday. He would be eager to turn things around and log some strong results in the lead-up to his world title defence against challenger Javokhir Sindarov later this year.

"Most of it (critical comments made by former greats) I don't see, but there are some that I have heard and I think it's fair," said Gukesh on Sunday.

"I have not been performing well in the last...