'Golden era for Indian chess'

Indian GM Pentala Harikrishna says world champion D Gukesh’s achievement complemented by Team India’s Olympiad win earlier in the year makes this a…

Indian Grandmaster Pentala Harikrishna, who was part of world champion Dommaraju Gukesh’s team believes his world title will serve as a huge inspiration to youngsters and has led Indian chess into a golden era.

Gukesh, 18, beat defending champion Ding Liren of China 7.5-6.5 in the 14-game championship in Singapore on Thursday to become the youngest world champion.

Pentala Harikrishna

“We saw Indian chess on a high when Viswanathan Anand was world champion till 2013, and after 11 years, we have Gukesh. India also won the Olympiad gold [team competition] earlier this year. This is total domination by us. This is the golden era of Indian chess,” Harikrishna, 38, told mid-day over the phone from Malaga, Spain, where most of the team was based.

Apart from Harikrishna, Team Gukesh comprised four Polish Grandmasters and mental trainer Paddy Upton. “We were working remotely. There’s a seven-hour time difference between Singapore and Spain, so we worked on strategies accordingly and then presented them to Gukesh. Our team focused on the openings and helped Gukesh get more adventurous and intense in his games. I also had some intense end-game sessions with him. We held pre-match sessions and also sessions during the championship. Our preparation started around 11 months ago. Being the only Indian among the seconds was helpful. Gukesh knows all of us well, but he was a little more comfortable with me as I have been his teammate too,” added Harikrishna.

The former world junior champion underlined the significance of Upton’s role: “In the past, we had never known about this [mental] aspect but Gukesh clearly felt more comfortable after his sessions with Upton. It helped him to have a nice sleep and remain calm. That’s very important in a tournament like the world championship. In fact, in any high-intensity game, holding your nerve is very crucial because one blunder, like what Ding did in Game 14, can be disastrous. Upton ensured Gukesh remained mentally strong throughout.”

Gukesh’s ability to remain calm and fight back is his strength, said Harikrishna. “Gukesh went down in the first game, but won the third to equalise things. Then, seven games were drawn before he won the 11th to take the lead. He lost his concentration in Game 12 as Ding levelled the series, but then showed his mental toughness in Game 13 [draw] and Game 14. This is his biggest strength. He takes the setbacks in his stride and recovers. He fights till the end and is cool even when he loses a match. During this championship, Ding tried to close the game many times, but Gukesh did not give up and kept pushing.”

TN CM announces Rs 5cr cash prize

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Friday announced a cash prize of R5 crore for D Gukesh for becoming the youngest World Chess Champion. Gukesh achieved the feat on Thursday.

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