For a boy who says he idolises Mahendra Singh Dhoni, there’s a sure trace of MSD about the best way Gukesh does issues on the chessboard.
Falling to defeat within the first sport of the World Chess Championship with white items would have been sufficient to rattle anyone’s confidence. Extra so in the event you’re an 18-year-old getting into the cauldron of stress for the primary time. That opening sport defeat to Ding Liren would have additionally reminded Gukesh of a damning stat: he had by no means overwhelmed the reigning world champion in a classical sport and had misplaced with black items each single time he had confronted the Chinese language GM.
However Gukesh didn’t get to date by getting rattled by defeats. Simply take a look at the Candidates match in Toronto this yr the place the 17-year-old had reduce down an skilled subject to earn his shot on the title. He had been successful the sport in opposition to Alireza Firouzja, when he obtained low on time and finally misplaced. For a short second, his masks of nonchalance slipped. However later, he known as that defeat as a second that he drew confidence from.
Thoughts guru Paddy Upton — who has labored with among the best Indian athletes throughout a number of sports activities, be it the Indian cricket workforce legends like Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid or Indian hockey stalwarts like PR Sreejesh — gushed about Gukesh’s psychological toughness and large match temperament.
“One factor about Gukesh is that he’s a type of who brings out his finest within the actually large moments. Somebody like Virat Kohli within the T20 World Cup earlier this yr. Or Gautam Gambhir and Mahendra Singh Dhoni within the 2011 World Cup,” Upton had instructed The Indian Specific earlier than the World Chess Championship.
Upton had gone on to foretell: “Most gamers are overwhelmed by the actually large event. However there’s only some who I might name big-match temperament gamers. Gukesh is somebody who has proven all of the indicators of being that. The larger the match, the higher chess he’s almost definitely to play. I feel this World Championship goes to carry the very best out of him.”
Upton’s predictions are already beginning to grow to be actuality. Gukesh remained unflappable after the opening defeat and the sport 2 draw versus Ding Liren, the place his opponent tried to spring surprises on him figuring out he could be nervous.
“We already knew what may occur. Shedding is a part of the sport. It was not a shock,” Gukesh had stated after the second sport the place he even managed to interrupt right into a smile a number of instances. A day later, after he had a win on the board, he added: “The final two days I used to be proud of my play, however right this moment was even higher. I really feel good on the board and right this moment I simply managed to outplay my opponent with chess which is all the time very good.”
Simply in case he begins to get carried away with the win, he’s reminded of the stinging criticism by former world champion Magnus Carlsen who had stated after his sport 1 defeat: “It’s exhausting to understate how unhealthy this was from Gukesh. Not a single good determination.”
Gukesh takes the stinging rebuke in his stride and simply shrugs. “After some level, all my strikes have been fairly unhealthy,” he admitted. “Nevertheless it was additionally comprehensible. It’s my first world championship. It’s a brand new setting for me. Even Magnus in his first world championship, he was not at his finest firstly. It’s a really regular response. I used to be okay with that.”
It takes greater than a defeat or criticism from a legend to rattle this 18-year-old.
