Gukesh emulated the legendary Anand by winning the coveted title.
| Photo Credit: PTI
Even the wildest of schoolboy dreams come true, sometimes.
D. Gukesh was seven when he saw Magnus Carlsen dethrone Viswanathan Anand in the 2013 World chess championship. And it happened in Chennai, home-town to both Anand and Gukesh.
The little boy felt: “I wanted to bring the World championship back to India. And I wanted to be that one.”
Destiny agreed with him.
He became the world’s youngest ever chess champion after beating the defending champion Ding Liren in the fourteenth game here on Thursday.
“When I was watching the match in 2013, I was in the stands and I was looking inside the glass box,” a beaming Gukesh said at a press conference shortly after his triumph. “I thought it would be so cool to be inside one day.
“When Magnus won I felt I really wanted to be the one to bring the title back to India. I had this more than ten years ago, it has been the single most important thing in my life so far.
“Doing this for myself, for my loved ones and my country, there is probably nothing better.”
Now Anand is his mentor. The WestBridge Anand Chess Academy has played a major role in Gukesh’s career. Gukesh expressed his gratitude also to the team of seconds – besides Grzegorz Gajewski, that is — which he finally revealed. He had done a pretty good job of keeping it secret.
He thanked Radoslaw Wojtaszek, P. Harikrishna, Vincent Keymer, Jan-Krzysztof Duda, Jan Klimkowski and Paddy Upton, the mental conditioning coach, who was here to witness his success. As was Gajewski.
Gukesh once again showed his class and maturity by paying a tribute to his opponent Ding. “Ding Liren is a real inspiration to me,” “What I learned from Ding is what an incredible fighter he is – true champions fight until the very end. He’s one of the greatest champions in history, and despite his struggles and not being physically fit, he’s fought like a true champion. “
About his costly mistake, Ding said, “I was totally in shock when I realised I made a blunder.”
Gukesh said he didn’t realise that initially. “When I realised that I was winning it was the best moment of my life.”
Published – December 13, 2024 11:27 am IST
