As he emerged from the playing hall in Toronto on Sunday morning after defeating Alireza Firouzja — a victory that propped him to first place of the standings with just one game left — D Gukesh was asked about his trademark unfazed demeanor that he has maintained all through tense rounds of the Candidates chess tournament. At 17 he was now just a win away from being the youngest player ever to win the event conducted to decide the challenger the the reigning World Champion but there were no signs of nerves.
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“I’ve been eager and excited in the same way from the start. My mental state has been the same,” Gukesh said at the press conference after the Round 13 triumph that made him the odds-on favourite to be the designated No.1 Candidate to take on defending champion Ding Liren of China next year.
In another top of the table duel, Gukesh’s closest rivals — Ian Nepomniachtchi and Hikaru Nakamura — settled for a quick draw. These results set up an exciting final round on Monday. Gukesh at 8.5 points is now closely followed by the three joint-second candidates – the two Americans Nakamura and Fabiano Caruana along with Russia’s Nepomniachtchi.
Despite his opponents breathing down his neck, Gukesh played the waiting game. He didn’t allow pressure to make him anxious. It was the French GM Firouzja who blinked first. The moment came when the two rival queens were face-to-face. Gukesh didn’t shy away from skirmish and accepted the queen exchange. This put him in a winning position. It would take him 17 more moves to seal the game.
Far from being overawed by the occasion, Gukesh has held his own against his experienced rivals when the battle stretched. “Perhaps, it could be my age,” smiled Gukesh as he tried to rationalise an explanation for why he has been playing so well in longer games in Toronto.
Gukesh’s mentor Viswanathan Anand offered a more lucid response. “I would describe Gukesh at the Candidates as steady and focussed. Focussed because he appreciates the occasion and the chance he’s got. And steady because he plays one game at a time and gives the impression of keeping his concentration on the game ahead of him. He’s happy and excited at the chance he’s got. But generally, he’s quite level-headed about his tournament situation. I would say he gives the impression of (being in) control,” Anand told The Indian Express on Sunday.
Candidates chess 2024: Heading into the final round, Gukesh leads the 8-player standings with 8.5 points. (Michal Walusza via FIDE)
This is not the first time Anand has been left impressed by Gukesh’s maturity. Back in 2022, Gukesh had been one of the standout performers of the Chess Olympiad in Chennai. But with the gold medal in sight for India, he had lost to Uzbekistan’s Nodirbek Abdusattorov from a winning position which cost the team the top spot.
Chess Candidates 2024 Live Updates: Gukesh takes on Hikaru Nakamura with history on line
Back then, Anand had tried to cheer Gukesh up realising that this was the sort of defeat that would impact a rising star. “I was sure he would feel depressed. I’ve had games like these where there’s a lot riding on the outcome and I have blown it. I know what it does to you. So I thought let me go to him and try and cheer him up,” Anand had told The Indian Express last year.
But, the five-time world champion soon realised that the teenager was in good spirits and the two ended up playing table tennis. Anand’s concerns were unfounded, he didn’t need to console the teenager.
Exactly 10 days ago, Gukesh had experienced another such ego bruising defeat. He had been in sight of victory against Firouzja in Round 7, when suddenly he found himself sinking in the quick sand of time trouble. In the matter of a few dizzying minutes, what looked like a sure-fire win, turned into demoralising defeat.
It was one of those moments where insult came hand in hand with injury. The setback had denied Gukesh the chance to be the sole leader at the halfway point. Right after his defeat was confirmed, Gukesh looked shattered. He sat at the table, face buried in his palms trying to process how he had lost. But he soon gathered himself and made himself available for a match post-mortem that players are mandated to do for the world. Like he has for the rest of the tournament, Gukesh looked measured as he analysed what had gone wrong even as his opponent giggled while recounting how bad a game he had played, and survived with a victory.
For a teenager playing at the biggest stage of his career, this could have been a demoralising defeat but Gukesh has gone undefeated since that result. “You could see the disappointment in Gukesh’s reaction and on his face (after losing to Alireza in Round 7). But the game wasn’t that overwhelming. Gukesh took it in stride and got on with the next game,” Anand told The Indian Express.
Now for one more time, Gukesh needs to play the next game just right. If he wins tomorrow, Gukesh will make history. “Almost anything a 17-year-old does at the Candidates is pretty historic,” said Anand before adding: “More on that after the round tonight.”
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