File image of World Chess Championship contender Gukesh at the Tat Steel India Chess Tournament in Kolkata in 2023. (Express Photo by Partha Paul)
The ongoing Tata Steel chess tournament in the Dutch town of Wijk aan Zee will see a reunion of sorts for Gukesh and two of his seconds, who helped him become the youngest world champion in history by defeating Ding Liren in Singapore last month.
The 14-player masters field at the prestigious Tata Steel tournament — called the Wimbledon of Chess — will see Gukesh face players like Praggnanandhaa and Arjun Erigaisi. But the event also sees Gukesh take on two of his seconds for the World Chess Championship last month — Gukesh will face Vincent Keymer in Round 5 (Wednesday) and Pentala Harikrishna in Round 7 (Saturday).
Asked if the clashes against his seconds would be ‘special games’, the teenager said: “Once I get to the board, in general I don’t really care about the opponent, whether it’s a good friend or anyone. It will be business as usual. We have developed a close bond over the year. I’m glad they’re playing in this tournament.”
The 18-year-old said that he is currently working with his long-time trainer Grzegorz Gajewski, who is not in Wijk aan Zee, but is helping him remotely.
Gukesh had landed in Wijk aan Zee just hours before his first round game, flying late because on day before the start of the tournament, he was awarded by the Khel Ratna in New Delhi . Asked if he had settled into Wijk aan Zee, Gukesh said: “The first day I was feeling a bit sleepy. Now I’ve had some good rest. Spending two or three days in Delhi was helpful to adjust to the cold.”
Talking about how his strategy had been different from the world championship and at the Tata Steel chess tournament, Gukesh pointed out that in Singapore his idea was to extend every game as long as possible as long as he was not in danger of losing. But at the Tata Steel event, his idea it to show up for games happy.
“In the match, I had six or seven months to strategise against one opponent. Here it is about coming to every game with a good mood and just play good chess,” Gukesh said.
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