THE HINDU
2 Tuesday, April 23, 2024
WORDS OF WISDOM
A world champion’s observation
has proved prophetic
X X
Former women’s World champion Susan Polgar’s tweet on Gukesh
has had more than one lakh views. “I said long before the recent
success of young Indian players, Gukesh will go the furthest. He has
the maturity beyond his years. He has the talent, motivation,
fearless mentality, strong nerves, determination, and the X-factor.”
Teen prodigy Gukesh earns the right
to battle Ding for the World crown
The 17-year-old holds Nakamura in the final round, emerges champion after Nepo and Caruana play out a draw; Indian becomes the youngest-ever
challenger bettering Kasparov’s record; Tan reigns supreme in the women’s section; Humpy and Vaishali finish second and fourth respectively
CANDIDATES CHESS
Sports Bureau
. Gukesh will play
D for the World
chess champion-
ship as the youngest chal-
lenger in history. The 17-
year-old from Chennai
won the qualifying event,
the Candidates tourna-
ment, in Toronto after
drawing his final round en-
counter with second seed
Hikaru Nakamura of the
United States on Sunday.
There was still the possi-
bility of either top-seeded
American Fabiano Carua-
na or Russian Ian Nepom-
niachtchi, who won the
last two Candidates, catch-
ing up with him.
The two men were fac-
ing each other, and the
winner could set up a tie-
break match. But that
game, after some fluctua-
tions, was finally drawn.
Next step
Gukesh will take on the
reigning champion Ding
Liren of China in the World
championship match later
in the year.
The women’s tourna-
ment was won by China’s
Tan Zhongyi, who finished
with nine points, 1.5 ahead
of the competition.
The Indian duo of Kone-
ru Humpy and R. Vaishali
finished with 7.5 points
and were placed second
A young knight who has the armoury to reign supreme
P.K. Ajith Kumar
The walk may have felt the
longest in his life for Dom-
maraju Gukesh.
After his game with Hi-
karu Nakamura ended in a
draw at the Great Hall in
Toronto in the final round
of the Candidates chess
tournament, and listening
to the commentary on the
ongoing game between Ian
Nepomniachtchi and Fa-
biano Caruana for a while,
he decided to take a walk
along with Grzegorz Ga-
jewski, his second (spar-
ring partner).
He hadn’t felt so much
stress even during the
three-week long tourna-
ment, in which he had to
face the most of the
world’s best chess players
twice.
He had done his best.
But was it enough?
Gukesh was in no posi-
tion to answer it, though.
That answer had to come
from the game between
Nepomniachtchi, the man
who had won the last two
editions of the tourna-
ment, and Fabiano Carua-
na, the top seed. The ideal
answer would be a draw.
It didn’t look like a draw
CM
YK
X@SUSANPOLGAR
Impressive display: Gukesh rose to the challenge against Nakamura by playing a solid game with black that left the American with much to ponder. FIDE
and fourth respectively.
Five-in-a-row
Lei Tingjie of China, who
was beaten by Humpy, al-
so scored 7.5 points and
was third. Vaishali defeat-
ed Russian Kateryna Lag-
no to register her fifth win
in a row; that was after los-
ing four in a row.
Tan will meet her com-
patriot Ju Wenjun for the
women’s World
championship.
Gukesh had black piec-
es against Nakamura in
their Queen’s Gambit Ac-
cepted game which lasted
Everybody loves... Gukesh, given his exceptional talent and ability to make the right judgment, should
be a hit among chess aficionados for a long, long time. FIDE
though.
Caruana seemed poised
for a win, and that meant
Gukesh would have to play
a tie-breaker the following
day. If Nepominiachtchi
and Caruana drew, they
would remain on 8.5
points, along with Nakam-
ura, the second seed. That
would leave Gukesh, who
had nine points, the undis-
puted champion: no tie-
breakers would be
THEN AND NOW
Gajewski the common factor
between Anand and Gukesh
Grzegorz Gajewski, who accompanied D. Gukesh as his second to
Toronto, worked in a similar capacity with five-time World
champion Viswanathan Anand. The Polish GM was ranked in the
world’s top-100 10 years ago. He is also part of the WestBridge
Anand Chess Academy that trains Gukesh.
71 moves; it ended with
just the two kings on the
board.
“I am so relieved and so
happy,” Gukesh said after
he was confirmed as the
champion. “Following this
crazy game (between Ca-
ruana and Nepomniacht-
chi, I was completely emo-
tional. Now I am feeling
quite good.”
The results (final round):
Open: Hikaru Nakamura (USA)
8.5 drew D. Gukesh 9; Fabiano
Caruana (USA) 8.5 drew with Ian
Nepokniachtchi (FIDE) 8.5; Nijat
Abasov (Aze) 3.5 lost to R.
required.
Gukesh got what he —
and a country of one bil-
lion that is increasingly be-
coming fascinated with the
mind game — wanted.
Beating At 17, he became
the youngest-ever challen-
ger for the World chess
championship beating the
record set by the Russian
legend Garry Kasparov, in
1984, at the age of 20.
The news was broken to
Sport
FIDE
Praggnanandhaa 7; Alireza
Firouzja (Fra) 5 drew with Vidit
Gujrathi 6.
Standings: 1. Gukesh 9; 2-4.
Nakamura, Nepomniachtchi, and
Caruana 8.5; 5. Praggnanandhaa
7; 6. Gujrathi 6; 7. Firouzja 5; 8.
Abasov 3.5.
Women: Anna Muzychuk (Ukr)
5.5 drew with Tan Zhongyi (Chn)
9; Kateryna Lagno (Ukr) 6.5 lost
to R. Vaishali 7.5; Le Tingjie (Chn)
7.5 lost to Koneru Humpy 7.5;
Aleksandra Goryachkina (FIDE) 7
drew with Nurgyul Salimova (Bul)
5.5.
Standings: 1. Tan 9; 2-4. Humpy,
Lei and Vaishali 7.5; 5.
Goryachkina 7; 6. Lagno 6.5; 7-8.
Salimova and Muzychuk 5.5.
him by his father Dr. Rajini-
kanth, an ENT surgeon
who has to schedule his
surgeries according to Gu-
kesh’s tournaments. He
ran towards his son and
stopped his walk. The doc-
tor managed to do what
none of Gukesh’s seven riv-
als could in Toronto.
Five of them were rated
above him. He wasn’t even
the highest-rated Indian.
That was R. Praggnanand-
CRADLE OF CHAMPIONS
The nursery where talents like
Gukesh and Pragg have blossomed
X X
“Chess has always been a part of the city’s culture and the decision
to make chess a part of the curriculum has really helped it to boom.
Of course, they also have a champion like Anand to look up to, said
S. Velavan, the chess co-coordinator at the Velammal Institutions,
the alma mater of Gukesh and Praggnanandhaa.
haa, nine months older,
and a fellow-Chennaiite.
Gukesh wasn’t among
the favourites. Caruana,
Nakamura and Nepom-
niachtchi were.
Among the many he sur-
prised was Magnus Carl-
sen. The five-time World
champion from Norway is
no longer part of the World
championship cycle — he
has cited a lack of motiva-
tion — had predicted how
all the eight players would
perform at the Candidates.
He had picked Caruana
and Nakamura as the like-
liest winners, followed by
Nepomniachtchi. His pred-
iction for Gukesh: I cannot
imagine him winning the
Candidates. He is not quite
ready yet to make the leap.
Carlsen wasn’t the only
one who thought so. He
hadn’t even qualified for
the Candidates till the last
minute. It took him a Super
Grandmaster tournament
in Chennai in December
that was specifically con-
ducted for the purpose.
No surprises
For those who had been
following his career close-
ly, Gukesh’s win may not
have come as a complete
FIDE
shock. Two years ago, at
the Chennai Chess Olym-
piad, he had come up with
an incredible show, win-
ning his first eight games in
a row for India-2 on the top
board.
It is regarded as one of
the greatest performances
in a chess tournament ev-
er. If someone could play
like that at 15, there was ev-
ery possibility that he
could deliver in a tougher
event when he became ol-
der and stronger.
How much stronger he
could become is indeed an
interesting thought. Given
his exceptional talent, the
maturity and the ability to
make the right judgment —
his penultimate round
game against Alireza Fi-
rouzja at Toronto is an ex-
ample, as he avoided a
draw and went for a win —
he should be among the
world’s top players for a
long, long time.
He could soon begin
preparing for his World tit-
le match against Ding Li-
ren. Not many may want to
bet against him walking
further into record books —
as the world’s youngest-ev-
er chess champion.
TEAM EFFORT
Behind Gukesh’s success lies the
tale of his parents’ sacrifices
Gukesh’s parents put careers on hold to fuel his dream. Dr.
Rajinikanth, an ENT surgeon, stopped practice in 2017-18 as the
father-son duo travelled across the world when the prodigy chased
the final GM norm, while mother Padma turned the primary
breadwinner, taking care of the household expenses.
Being composed did
the trick for Gukesh
Viswanathan Anand
D. Gukesh is the deserving
winner of the Candidates
tournament. The story of
the last two rounds was on-
ly about him. He has be-
come the youngest challen-
ger in history. In his very
first Candidates tourna-
ment, against some of the
strongest players of all time
and some of whom played
four or five Candidates
tournaments, and Ian Ne-
pomniachtchi, the winner
of the last two Candidates,
he handled the pressure
throughout the
tournament.
Gukesh was the only one
whose level didn’t fluctuate
very much. In the 13th
round, against Alireza Fi-
rouzja, the opening didn’t
go well and he was just
looking for play, but unex-
pected things started to
happen under such pres-
sure. Gukesh was the cal-
mer player. His moves were
steady, and when Firouzja
started to overreach, he
grabbed the advantage and
converted it most efficient-
ly, which is very difficult
when you realise the impli-
cations of what you are do-
ing, that you are going to
take the lead in the tourna-
ment and so on.
Unusual opening
The pressure was only go-
ing to build. Caruana de-
feated R. Praggnanandhaa.
Then we had a dramatic
last round, in which only a
win against Hikaru Nakam-
ura would have guaranteed
Gukesh the first place, and
he was black. He once
again played one of his un-
usual openings in Queen’s
Gambit Accepted. Nakamu-
ra never seemed to find his
way against Gukesh and
was very soon worse. But
the advantage was not big
Mumbai
FIDE
enough for Gukesh to play
for a win. He got the draw,
which at least guaranteed
him the tie-break.
He actually was facing a
tie-breaker for some time,
as Nepomniachtchi had
managed to get into a lost
position against Fabiano
Caruana; that was the sit-
uation for two hours. Occa-
sionally Caruana would
slip, Nepomniachtchi’s po-
sition would improve, and
then a few seconds later,
the old evaluation would
be restored.
The participants must
have been under enor-
mous pressure at the end
of such a long tournament.
Ironically, it was the youn-
gest participant who coped
with the pressure and the
more experienced ones
cracked. It shows the enor-
mous mental strength of
Gukesh. Caruana and Na-
kumura managed to win
late games and showed
their class.
Caruana and Nakamura
didn’t have the strongest
tournaments, but they
waited for their moment
and grabbed the chance at
the last minute. It was wor-
rying for Gukesh that Ca-
ruana and Nakamura were
peaking at the end of the
tournament.
But Caruana, who has
won many games with
smaller advantages than
what he had against Ne-
pomniachtchi, was unable
to cope with the pressure.
He got confused about a
position where there could
have been four queens on
the board and then he had
to come back to make a
draw.
In the women’s tourna-
ment, only the two Chinese
participants had even the
mathematical possibilities.
In the end Lei Tingjie lost
to the Indian participants
R. Vaishali, who scored five
wins in a row after four
straight defeats, and Kone-
ru Humpy, who rescued
her tournament in the end.
Tan Zhongyi was a deserv-
ing winner.
A BM-BME