Dommaraju Gukesh, just 17, ended his mentor and five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand’s almost 37-year reign as India No. 1 a few days back. And now the Indian chess sensation wants to remain numero uno as long as he can.
“I want to stay as the No.1 player in India as long as possible. I do not know whether it’s possible but I will give my all to stay as the No. 1. Yes there are other players who will also try to become the country’s No. 1 player but I will fight to stay up there,” Gukesh, the world No.8, said during a news conference at the National Library on Thursday. Gukesh is in town for the ongoing Tata Steel Chess India — Rapid and Blitz.
His recent performances — eight consecutive wins in last year’s Chess Olympiad in Tamil Nadu which fetched him a gold medal, and a quarter-final finish in the Chess World Cup in Baku last month — have raised expectations but the teenager said he is okay with handling pressure. “I am used to handling expectations. This is nothing new for me. I’ve made some progress in the past year, which I’m happy about. But there’s still a long way to go. Yeah, I have high expectations of myself,” he said.
Gukesh felt last year’s Chess Olympiad was a watershed moment for him. “Before that, I was not playing that many top players. In the Olympiad, I was on a golden run as everything fell into place. And thereon, I have been pitted against world-class players consistently. That gave me the confidence, that helped my game to grow. I am no longer scared of facing them. Yes, there may not be some catchy results but I am very pleased with my performances. Hopefully, I will be able to improve my game further,” he said.
There is an air of calm about the 17-year-old and his face hardly betrays emotions. Gukesh revealed that even he finds it difficult to deal with setbacks. “Yes, every defeat bogs me down. But these days I am not tasting defeats often.”
Gukesh, along with Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, Vidit Gujrathi, Pentala Harikrishna and Arjun Erigaisi, forms a formidable Indian men’s chess team for the forthcoming Asian Games and he is looking forward to the event.
“I am super excited. This is my Asian Games and I am looking forward to this. Being a multi-discipline event I would also like to watch some matches in other sports. I am very very fond of badminton, so hopefully will be able to root for our shuttlers from the stands.”
Gukesh felt the camp here in the city was of great help. “We spent quality time with (Boris) Gelfand. It was very instructive and also not very direct which was usually a good thing so yeah, the camp was brilliant.”
