Bengaluru: It’s perhaps not the most natural thing for an 18-year-old first-time World Championship challenger going up against the defending world champion to be seen as an outright favourite. Form favours Indian teen D Gukesh over a world champion who hasn’t quite been himself for a while now. Grandmasters around the world have weighed in and the feeling is shared – a Gukesh win is expected in the November match. In a recent interview, Ding Liren spoke of liking the feeling of being the underdog – “I’ll surprise them then.”
How does the Indian look at the expectation he carries going into the match in such a scenario? “I’m glad people are saying this and I’m happy with my form but I don’t think it adds any extra pressure. Of course, the pressure of playing the World Championship is there, but there’s no additional pressure, I think I can handle it well.” Gukesh said in a media interaction.
“I don’t believe in predictions and favourites and don’t really buy into the things that people say about the match. I just think that whoever it’s able to show up every day and is at his best, will win. For me it’s just a match against a very strong player. I’m preparing for Ding at his best. My job is to go there and play good chess. It doesn’t really matter what kind of form he is in. My job is pretty clear.”
What about the preparation that such a match entails? Discontent over the format aside, five-time world champion Magnus Carlsen also came to loathe what goes into getting ready to play a World Championship that had him eventually walk away from it.
“I’m enjoying the process,” said Gukesh, “It’s different for each of us. Magnus has been doing this for so many years (unlike him). So, it’s easier for me to enjoy this than him. It’s a new experience. I think preparation will be quite important, but there will also be other parts in the match that decide the results.”
He believes his age offers him the advantage of energy and the ability to focus for extended periods. “Everything is new for me so it’s easier to enjoy, than say someone like Fabi (Caruana) who has gone through this World Championship cycle so many times. So yeah, I don’t have that kind of baggage. The disadvantage is that I’m not as experienced and don’t have as much knowledge as them. But, till now it (age) has been positive.”
Like pretty much any strong chess player, Gukesh has studied almost all the World Championship matches but his first experience of the match came in 2013, when Viswanathan and Magnus Carslen played each other in Chennai.
“At that time, I was just starting out in chess, and it was inspiring to see such a huge match happening so close to home. I have followed all the World Championships after that closely. In 2021, I went to Dubai to watch Magnus versus Nepo and I also was following the games. It’s a very special event and I’m glad to be part of this amazing history.”
Gukesh spoke about being inspired by reading about Olympic gold medallist Abhinav Bindra’s dedication and discipline through setbacks in his autobiography A Shot at History. “I remember one thing I really liked was Abhinav doing the right things even in difficult situations. It was amazing to see how he continued to work hard and how motivated he was after a heartbreak (2004 Olympics) and went on to win gold in the Olympics four years later.”