Gukesh could be king of World soon

India’s D Gukesh at Budapest on Sunday. Pic/AP, PTI

Indian hearts swelled with pride with the men's and women's chess teams' grand show at the Chess Olympiad on Sunday night in Budapest. But did the result and power-packed performance of D Gukesh send shockwaves across the border.

Quite possible, considering that the World Championship match between Gukesh and defending champion Ding Liren of China is less than two months away. Gukesh won an individual gold, incidentally his second after winning the first one at the Chennai Olympiad a couple of years back.

Gukesh, 18, whom many feel is a trifle young and lacks the experience to fight for a World Championship title match, has quite clearly fired the first salvo even before the first game of the World Championship with a jaw-dropping performance, scoring 9/10 points and maintaining a clean slate. Amongst the frequent visitors who thronged his board during the games was Ding Liren. Interestingly, FIDE, the world chess body released a reel of top players which included the likes of former world champions Magnus Carlsen and Ruslan Ponamariov along with Levon Aronian and other top players having a sneak-peak at Gukesh's games in the midst of their games, only to leave with stunned expressions after witnessing his incredible moves which almost appeared magical.

Top-quality chess

Also Read: "This academy will empower young sportspersons": Ajinkya Rahane on running his new academy in Bandra

An awe-inspiring Elo 3056 rating performance, the highest in the entire Olympiad speaks volumes of the strength and quality of chess he exhibited. At the start of the event, Gukesh enjoyed a Elo 2764 rating and garnered 30 points during the last 12 days, unheard of at this platform considering the formidable opposition. After crossing the 2750 Elo barrier, the players literally inch across, gaining points in just single digits. The other highlight of Gukesh's play was the confidence with which he played, never in trouble during all the 10 games that he played.

Ready for the biggest stage

Defeating Fabiano Caruana, the third highest rated player in the world in the crucial penultimate round, was also a signal of sorts that Gukesh is ready for the biggest stage of his life. Caruana has also been a World Championship challenger to Carlsen and in general, enjoys the reputation of the player most difficult to beat. The victory against Chinese Wei Yi was nothing short of spectacular as was the case with the victory over Maghsoodloo of Iran, all players rated above Elo 2700.

Gukesh had taken a big risk in playing the Olympiad just a couple of months before the World Championship. He admitted that at times he had to maintain a balance on how much of his World Championship preparation he could reveal during the selection of Openings to be played at the Olympiad. This is a dilemma faced by all the world champions and challengers a few months before the title bout. Gukesh, however, made it clear that during the Olympiad he was single-mindedly focussing on garnering the gold for India after narrowly missing it last time around. He also felt that the Olympiad has proved to be a good outing just before the World Championship.

Ding Liren, after winning the World Championship, has not been in good nick and failed to impress in any tournament after a long lay-off last year. At this Olympiad however, he appeared to have lifted his game a bit and interestingly had commented that Gukesh was better equipped to fight for the World title. One wonders whether Gukesh has already delivered a psychological blow.