Much has been said over the past week about the quality of chess played at the recently concluded World Chess Championship final between Dommaraju Gukesh and Ding Liren. In the wake of Liren blundering in the last game—a self-goal of sorts that became the decider—the most scathing comment came from former world champion Vladimir Kramnik.

He said on X: “Sad. No comment. End of chess as we know it.”

The Russian Chess Federation went a step further: it publicly claimed Liren blundered on purpose and demanded that its allegation was investigated.

To be sure, it was perhaps the worst one-move blunder in the 138-year history of world chess championships. But 18-year-old Gukesh, now the youngest world champion ever, had fully earned the victory. In the dying phase of the match, Liren, who has a history of mental health issues, was horribly exhausted. Speaking at a press conference after game 13 had ended in a draw, Liren himself admitted to being extremely tired going into the decider.

Clearly, he should not have revealed it in straight face. Gukesh, too, was tired — he said so after winning the championship — but Liren’s admission surely gave Gukesh the motivation to probe on in what appeared to be dead draw defendable by any professional chess player. The position on the board was so uncomplicated and the magnitude of Liren’s blunder so unexpected that Gukesh almost missed it!

Garry Kasparov, former world champion and one of the greatest ever, came to Gukesh’s defence. “The level of play was quite high… as for the blunders, which world championship, or world champion, was without them? Matches take a toll,” Kasparov said on X, while praising Liren for showing “great resistance”.

Garry Kasparov, former world champion and one of the greatest ever, praised Gukesh’s opponent, Ding Liren, for showing ‘great resistance’ FIDE/Eng Chin An via PTI Photo

It was a seesaw battle from the beginning. Going into the final encounter, or game 14, Liren and Gukesh had won two games each; the remaining nine had ended in draws. It was Liren who seized the lead in the very first game, but Gukesh neutralised it in the third game. Game 11 saw Gukesh taking lead, but he couldn’t seize the momentum as Liren bounced back with a masterpiece in the very next game — widely seen as one of his best.

But throughout the match, Gukesh was seen creating complications for Liren, even in positions that looked unfavourable. At least twice, he declined to settle for a draw even when Liren had the upper hand. On both occasions, he eventually managed to secure a draw, but from the word go, Gukesh made it clear he was looking to turn the match into a war of attrition. The unforgiving grind paid off in the end.

It was part of a plan, revealed Paddy Upton, mind whisperer to elite athletes who had worked with Gukesh ahead of the match. “The plan was to keep Ding on the board for as long as possible and tire him out. Gukesh is younger and he would be better off the next day. Under pressure, Ding ultimately made a mistake,” Upton said in an interview with The Economic Times.

Paddy Upton, mind whisperer to elite athletes, worked with Gukesh ahead of the match BCCI

Gukesh wasn’t the first to take this approach; numerous others including Kasparov have tried it. Most notably, Magnus Carlsen used the same tactic twice in as many matches against Viswanathan Anand, first to claim the world title in 2013 and then to defend it a year later, but the difference in age between them was much wider. Carlsen dragged out almost every game beyond Anand’s comfort and got him to make unforced errors in sterile positions in the fourth or fifth hour of play.

As most pundits have pointed out, and Gukesh himself has admitted, at age 18, he isn’t close to his peak. “It’s a motivating factor for me that I haven’t achieved my peak yet,” Gukesh said in a recent interview. “To reach my full potential, I need to keep doing the right things.” Undoubtedly, he has been doing a lot of right things — religiously following a process, as it were — and that’s how he has got this far, so quickly.

No matter what happens in a game — whether he wins or loses — you’d see at the end of each game Gukesh putting the chess pieces back at their starting positions. No exception even after his win against Liren: struggling to hold back his emotions, Gukesh went through the ritual like any other day. Ditto when he loses and is completely heartbroken. This shows dedication to process.

As most pundits have pointed out, and Gukesh himself has admitted, at age 18, he isn’t close to his peak PTI/TT Archives

There’s nothing new in immersing yourself into a process that works. But it is easier said than done. Kasparov writes in his book How Life Imitates Chess that Mikhail Botvinnik, former world champion, had “codified” how a player should prepare for this level of competition. Botvinnik’s training regime “encompassed not only specific chess research, but also physical and psychological preparation”.

Kasparov writes of his coach Botvinnik that he had established “a strict timetable for meals, rest, brisk walks…”—a complete process, which he followed during his entire career. “Botvinnik had no patience for people who complained they didn’t have enough time. And forget about telling the great teacher you were tired that day! Sleep and rest were to be as carefully scheduled as training, and it was simply inexcusable to get insufficient rest.”

Gukesh is remarkable for at least two other qualities: his courage to play for win even in not-so-promising positions and the ability to process setbacks. He was nervous in the beginning, as he himself admitted, and started the match with a loss, but drew level within two games. There on, he kept asking questions of his opponent, every single game, conquering the fear of failure and displaying great courage.

Gukesh is remarkable for his courage to play for win even in not-so-promising positions and the ability to process setbacks PTI/TT Archives

“Courage is the first of human qualities because it guarantees all others,” Kasparov writes in his book cited above. “The result of trying anything is either failure or success. If you wish to succeed, you must brave the risk of failure.” That’s exactly what made Gukesh the more deserving to win the championship. Not surprisingly, Upton rates Gukesh among the top five of the 350 elite athletes he has worked with.

What next? In less than a fortnight of winning the world title in classical chess, Gukesh will take on the world’s top-ranking players, including Carlsen, in a shorter format of the sport: World Rapid and Blitz Championship in New York. T20 chess is definitely not his forte, so there’s not much at stake for Gukesh.

He has had a phenomenal year: he won the Candidates tournament in April, earning the right to take on the world champion. In September, he won the individual gold for the top board and led team India to victory in the Chess Olympiad before capping his dream run with the win against Liren.

Sustaining motivation after such a stellar performance over such a long period of time isn’t easy. The upcoming shorter format championship will be a test of Gukesh’s grit as well as an opportunity to experiment with homework that he didn’t use at the final against Liren.

Aniek Paul is a former chess player and journalist.