CHENNAI: What separates newlycrowned world champion D Gukesh from the remainder? His starvation to achieve perfection when on the peak of his prowess. Throughout an interplay with TOI from Singapore on Friday, Gukesh’s coach and second Grzegorz Gajewski revealed that simply hours after successful the title, the Indian teen talked to him about how he may have performed higher. “Consider it or not, even yesterday (Thursday), he spoke about issues that he may enhance upon. That’s the degree of consciousness he has,” mentioned Gajewski. The Polish Grandmaster additionally spoke about Gukesh’s preparation for the World Championship, his capability to remain calm, how he dealt with his feelings through the match and extra.
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What occurred behind the scenes within the lead-up to the match?
I discovered a really good workforce and we had coaching camps in India and Poland. After all, we did lots of work in between the camps. We put in lots of effort in guaranteeing that our openings have been pretty much as good as doable. We knew that we may get a severe edge on this a part of a sport. We additionally checked out different elements of a sport and tried to enhance Gukesh’s weaknesses in sure areas like time administration and decision-making course of. Whereas getting ready, we had a holistic method as an alternative of solely excited about the openings.
What makes Gukesh stand out?
He’s open-minded and is prepared to work and enhance. He has completely no issues in admitting what he has finished flawed. As an alternative of arguing, he focuses on how he can enhance. Consider it or not, even yesterday (Thursday), he spoke about issues that he may enhance upon. That’s the degree of consciousness he has and it’s one thing I’ve not seen a lot in my life.
What has been Gukesh’s mantra for fulfillment?
Aside from being an impressive chess participant, Gukesh has the flexibility to stay calm and composed in crucial moments. We all know that the 41st transfer is without doubt one of the most harmful moments in a sport, it comes proper after the time hassle (2 hours). The adrenaline may depart you and you would change into much less alert. It is vitally simple to lose focus and commit a blunder, Gukesh is aware of it properly. Within the World Championship, he was struggling for large elements of the match and taking part in beneath his degree. However Gukesh solved his issues and stored pushing. He had good video games and dangerous video games, however he stored pushing for 2 weeks. Lastly, the opponent (Ding Liren) crumbled.
How did he deal with the highs and lows through the match?
There have been all types of emotions; there was pleasure, disappointment, pleasure and frustration. One of many key moments was when Gukesh discovered his proper psychological state; he couldn’t convert a few successful positions. He admitted to me that he was feeling the stress and that he was afraid of not successful the match. He was conscious of his state and it isn’t a straightforward factor to confess. We made some adjustments throughout the remainder day (earlier than the 10th sport). We had some good actions and tried to make him overlook in regards to the occasion for a few hours. It allowed him to reset mentally. From the 10th sport, his psychological state was the way it was purported to be. Although he misplaced the 12th sport, he was not upset. He was calm and prepared for one more battle.
Can Gukesh dominate world chess for a protracted interval?
It’s going to be troublesome just because chess is so aggressive lately. There are such a lot of younger gamers who’re rising. In classical chess, even Magnus Carlsen would discover it troublesome to dominate lately. I’m not positive whether it is doable, however Gukesh is just 18. He’s very formidable and I’ll be certain that he retains working onerous to enhance in areas that want enchancment. Whether it is doable, we’ll attempt our greatest to make it.
