Gukesh surprised Arjun Agarwal, who is a sixth-grader from Chhattisgarh, with a video message on Kaun Banega Crorepati. (Screengrab via Sony)
Gukesh D, who is currently in the middle of preparing for the World Chess Championship battle with Ding Liren, recently took some time out from his training schedule to make an appearance on Kaun Banega Crorepati.
Gukesh is hoping to become the youngest ever world champion at the age of 18. But before he can summit that peak, he must prevail over the reigning world champion from China in a 14-game World Chess Championship match that will be held in Singapore.
Gukesh’s appearance on KBC came as a way of a pre-recorded video clip where he boosted the confidence of a contestant called Arjun Agarwal, who is a sixth-grader from Chhattisgarh.
During the episode, the show’s host Amitabh Bachchan posed a chess-related question worth Rs. 3,000. That led to Arjun talking about his love for the game. Arjun is a district-level chess player. He spoke of his ambition to become a grandmaster and a doctor.
Right after that, Bachchan started talking about Gukesh and asked Arjun if he wanted to emulate the Indian GM someday. As soon as Arjun replied in the affirmative, the show runners played a video message from Gukesh where he praised Arjun’s dedication and encouraged him to keep pursuing his goals.
“You’re a chess fan and you follow all my games. I’m very glad to know this. I hope you keep enjoying chess and achieve your goals. All the best for your appearance in Kaun Banega Crorepati. And I hope at some point in the future we can play a game of chess,” said Gukesh.
The Indian teenager has been in incredible form coming into the world championship, which will start later this month in Singapore. He claimed a gold medal for the top board at the recent Chess Olympiad. Meanwhile, his opponent Ding Liren has been struggling ever since he claimed the crown last year.
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