[ad_1]
The 17-year-old Grandmaster has risen to the highest of India’s chess pack and a Candidates berth to problem the perfect on the earth seems to be inside attain. The jury for TOI’s #Unstoppable21 marketing campaign has picked the Chennai teenager as one of many Unstoppable 21 Indians underneath 21 years
Highs and lows are half and parcel of a sportsperson’s life and it invariably boils right down to how one offers with them.
Indian Grandmaster D Gukesh, the prodigy who has taken the chess world by storm and surpassed the legendary Viswanathan Anand as India’s No. 1 within the stay FIDE rankings, skilled all of them within the final 12 months, en path to scripting historical past. He adopted it up with a creditable quarterfinal end within the recently-concluded World Cup in Baku the place R Praggnanandhaa gained the silver. Gukesh, although, seems to be all set to hitch Prag within the elite eight-player Candidates occasion subsequent April, the winner of which can tackle the present world champion Ding Liren.
Gukesh has been a pressure in current occasions, however he shot to limelight on the Chess Olympiad in Mamallapuram final 12 months. The teenage sensation clinched the person gold with an unbelievable 9 out of 11 factors in a area which comprised the likes of Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana, amongst others. Representing the India 2 staff that had bagged bronze, the 17-year-old had an unstoppable streak – eight wins on the bounce. After changing into India’s poster boy at a match the place he had delivered plenty of breathtaking performances, Gukesh went by a tough patch, by his lofty requirements, within the months that adopted. “All of us go through a phase where we do not know what we are doing. It was the same for him,” Gukesh’s coach, GM Vishnu Prasanna, instructed TOI.
Down mentally and consistently looking for the second that will spark a turnaround, the Chennai lad, for some time, was not his traditional self whereas pitting his wits in opposition to the crème de la crème of world chess. He saved attempting however his efforts didn’t bear fruit till the center of the Tata Steel Chess 2023 in Wijk aan Zee within the Netherlands in January.
Winless after seven rounds on the match, Gukesh broke the duck in Round 8 with a victory over Iranian GM Parham Maghsoodloo. And, there was no stopping him after that morale-boosting triumph. “He needed that luck to change his perspective. After that game, he went from having a bad mindset to a good mindset,” mentioned Prasanna. “We were just doing the usual things. We worked on his game and tried to fix it. He did not want to overthink and was only focused on playing. The win helped him to have a psychological shift.” After staying unbeaten for the rest of the Tata Steel occasion and ending twelfth with five-and-a-half factors, Gukesh went from power to power. He defeated his idol-turned-rival, World No.1 Carlsen, in over-the-board chess for the primary time within the second spherical of the Norway Chess Blitz match in Stavanger in May.
In July, Gukesh grew to become the youngest participant to cross the Elo 2750 threshold, because of his sheer dominance on the Turkish Super League. At the beginning of this month, Gukesh achieved a monumental feat as he went previous Anand to develop into India No.1 within the stay chess rankings, courtesy of his second-round win over Misratdin Iskandarov on the just-concluded World Cup at Baku in Azerbaijan. To put issues into perspective, Anand, who mentors Gukesh and different younger Indian expertise on the WestBridge Anand Chess Academy, had held on to the spot for nearly 36 years. “Gukesh’s rise has been incredible. I think that this climb (into the top-10) is very special (Gukesh is seventh in live rankings). Players usually pause and struggle to get through that barrier. I would say that this is the most difficult barrier. I am extremely happy that he has done very well,” mentioned Prasanna. “Staying consistent and maintaining one’s level are huge challenges. They are difficult to achieve, but he has been doing very well.”
Noted coach RB Ramesh showered reward on Gukesh for enjoying with immense confidence and backing his recreation. “He has shown phenomenal progress to overtake Anand. I am happy that a young Indian player is performing well at the international arena. He has great confidence and I believe that it is his biggest strength. He is a hard-working boy and is learning a lot by playing games. He has full belief in his abilities and that is refreshing to see,” mentioned Ramesh, who labored with Gukesh within the India 2 set-up on the Olympiad. While Gukesh is already a star, he’s hungry for extra.
“He is not overwhelmed by the expectations. He feels that he has still not achieved his ultimate goal of becoming World No. 1. He will not rest on his laurels,” mentioned Prasanna. “We have more challenges ahead. We have to see how Gukesh handles it going forward. The next goal is to get to the Candidates Tournament. I want him to win world events; they are like Grand Slams in tennis. More than playing well, I want him to win those titles,” Prasanna mentioned.
Highs and lows are half and parcel of a sportsperson’s life and it invariably boils right down to how one offers with them.
Indian Grandmaster D Gukesh, the prodigy who has taken the chess world by storm and surpassed the legendary Viswanathan Anand as India’s No. 1 within the stay FIDE rankings, skilled all of them within the final 12 months, en path to scripting historical past. He adopted it up with a creditable quarterfinal end within the recently-concluded World Cup in Baku the place R Praggnanandhaa gained the silver. Gukesh, although, seems to be all set to hitch Prag within the elite eight-player Candidates occasion subsequent April, the winner of which can tackle the present world champion Ding Liren.
Gukesh has been a pressure in current occasions, however he shot to limelight on the Chess Olympiad in Mamallapuram final 12 months. The teenage sensation clinched the person gold with an unbelievable 9 out of 11 factors in a area which comprised the likes of Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana, amongst others. Representing the India 2 staff that had bagged bronze, the 17-year-old had an unstoppable streak – eight wins on the bounce. After changing into India’s poster boy at a match the place he had delivered plenty of breathtaking performances, Gukesh went by a tough patch, by his lofty requirements, within the months that adopted. “All of us go through a phase where we do not know what we are doing. It was the same for him,” Gukesh’s coach, GM Vishnu Prasanna, instructed TOI.
Down mentally and consistently looking for the second that will spark a turnaround, the Chennai lad, for some time, was not his traditional self whereas pitting his wits in opposition to the crème de la crème of world chess. He saved attempting however his efforts didn’t bear fruit till the center of the Tata Steel Chess 2023 in Wijk aan Zee within the Netherlands in January.
Winless after seven rounds on the match, Gukesh broke the duck in Round 8 with a victory over Iranian GM Parham Maghsoodloo. And, there was no stopping him after that morale-boosting triumph. “He needed that luck to change his perspective. After that game, he went from having a bad mindset to a good mindset,” mentioned Prasanna. “We were just doing the usual things. We worked on his game and tried to fix it. He did not want to overthink and was only focused on playing. The win helped him to have a psychological shift.” After staying unbeaten for the rest of the Tata Steel occasion and ending twelfth with five-and-a-half factors, Gukesh went from power to power. He defeated his idol-turned-rival, World No.1 Carlsen, in over-the-board chess for the primary time within the second spherical of the Norway Chess Blitz match in Stavanger in May.
In July, Gukesh grew to become the youngest participant to cross the Elo 2750 threshold, because of his sheer dominance on the Turkish Super League. At the beginning of this month, Gukesh achieved a monumental feat as he went previous Anand to develop into India No.1 within the stay chess rankings, courtesy of his second-round win over Misratdin Iskandarov on the just-concluded World Cup at Baku in Azerbaijan. To put issues into perspective, Anand, who mentors Gukesh and different younger Indian expertise on the WestBridge Anand Chess Academy, had held on to the spot for nearly 36 years. “Gukesh’s rise has been incredible. I think that this climb (into the top-10) is very special (Gukesh is seventh in live rankings). Players usually pause and struggle to get through that barrier. I would say that this is the most difficult barrier. I am extremely happy that he has done very well,” mentioned Prasanna. “Staying consistent and maintaining one’s level are huge challenges. They are difficult to achieve, but he has been doing very well.”
Noted coach RB Ramesh showered reward on Gukesh for enjoying with immense confidence and backing his recreation. “He has shown phenomenal progress to overtake Anand. I am happy that a young Indian player is performing well at the international arena. He has great confidence and I believe that it is his biggest strength. He is a hard-working boy and is learning a lot by playing games. He has full belief in his abilities and that is refreshing to see,” mentioned Ramesh, who labored with Gukesh within the India 2 set-up on the Olympiad. While Gukesh is already a star, he’s hungry for extra.
“He is not overwhelmed by the expectations. He feels that he has still not achieved his ultimate goal of becoming World No. 1. He will not rest on his laurels,” mentioned Prasanna. “We have more challenges ahead. We have to see how Gukesh handles it going forward. The next goal is to get to the Candidates Tournament. I want him to win world events; they are like Grand Slams in tennis. More than playing well, I want him to win those titles,” Prasanna mentioned.
[adinserter block=”4″]
[ad_2]
Source link