D. Gukesh, the 18th and the youngest World Chess Champion, said that he will not participate at the FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Championship, scheduled to take place in New York later this month.
During the Velammal Nexus’s felicitation ceremony at the Velammal Hall here on Monday, the 18-year-old confirmed his exclusion from the year-ending event.
Gukesh dethroned China’s Ding Liren, becoming the latest entrant to the elite World Champions list.
The Chennai GM also heaped praise on his team of Seconds, which helped him in his training during the entirety of the Championship.
“They were working so hard for me. It was harder for them because they were staying up, doing all-nighters to help me prepare for the next games. It was very special,” he said.
READ | World Chess Champion Gukesh receives hero’s welcome in Chennai amid chaos and hysteria
Along with his long-time trainer Poland’s Grzegorz Gajewski, Gukesh teamed up with three more Poles in Radoslaw Wojtaszek, Jan-Krzysztof Duda and Jan Klimkowski. Gukesh’s training team also included his Olympiad gold medal-winning team member Pentala Harikrishna, and his contemporary German No. 1 Vincent Keymer.
Gajewski, who was also the Second of Viswanathan Anand -- five-time World Champion from India -- has been instrumental in Gukesh’s success.
“ Gayu (Gajewski) has been a huge support for the past two years. He has been my chess trainer. He has done a lot for me. Paddy (Upton) has made sure that I am emotionally, physically and mentally prepared for this huge challenge. I would like to thank them both,” he said.
Gukesh had taken help from renowned mental conditioning coach Paddy Upton to strengthen his mental aspect ahead of the Championship.
“Paddy has been a very important part of my team. After I won the candidates, my sponsor, Westbridge, immediately got in touch with Paddy for a mental training. We started working in preparation for the World Championship. I’ve learnt a lot of things and I enjoyed all the conversations that I had with him,” said Gukesh.
He added, “I would like to give a lot of credit to Paddy. For example, I lost game 1 and game 12, two very important games, and it’s very tough to handle that in those moments. Paddy and his teachings have really helped me overcome those moments.”
In former World Cup winner Duda, another Second for Anand, Wojtaszek, and 17-year-old IM Klimkowski alongside Gajewski, Gukesh had a team full of Poles.
Whether it was a conscious, carefully planned decision or just by co-incident, Gukesh said: “It was mostly based on the fact that I was comfortable with the guys. Gayu (Grzegorz Gajewski) knew all the Polish players. He has a lot of experience with them. As the head of the team, it made a lot of sense to do that. Each one has their own speciality. We tried to take the maximum out of them.
Gukesh also defended Ding on allegations from Andrei Filatov, president of the Chess Federation of Russia, that the Chinese player deliberately underperformed in the final match of the Championship. Ding blundered on the 54th move, misplacing his rook, effectively ending the title match then and there in the Indian’s favour.
“Anyone who understands high-level sports, it’s clear that if you play 13 games at a high level, in high intensity, prepared for six months, and you come for the last game at a world championship, you are pretty much dead at that point. We are basically two dead people playing chess. Mistakes happen in those moments,” he said.
Gukesh also tossed the possibility of defending the World Championship title at home, saying it was “still a long way to go” and that he would have to think about it.
Comments
SHARE