CHENNAI: Before the SuperUnited Rapid and Blitz competition in Croatia began, the organisers had carried 15000 tournament simulations. Per the simulations, D Gukesh had a 0.3 percent of winning it. It once again reflected the Indian's standing in the faster time controls. The world champion in Classical had a deeply calculative mind but his ratings in both Rapid and Blitz are well below the 2700 mark; if you are above this threshold, GMs are generally considered to be elite.
For example, Gukesh's Classical rating is 2776 but his ratings in both Rapid (2686.8) and Blitz (2612.6) tell a story. It's why his performance in Croatia was a net positive. He dominated the Rapid section of the event where he finished first (he again beat Magnus Carlsen) before a less than ideal Blitz performance (where he finished last) cost him the title. Overall, he finished third behind Carlsen and Wesley So).
Considering the Tamil Nadu teen isn't really known for his prowess when playing quicker time controls — he's very calculative rather than intuitive — finishing third is a sign of 'big progress' for Gukesh's coach, Grzegorz Gajewski. It also proves to the Pole GM that the behind-the-scenes work they are doing is beginning to pay off.
"We are doing some exercises strictly devoted to the faster time controls," Gajewski, who was in-situ with Gukesh, tells this daily. "Just some training games and exercises." These games and exercises are geared towards making the youngster more proficient in the game's shorter formats.
When Gajewski isn't designing customised exercises, the Pole has had to constantly remind the Indian that he's still only 19. "Chess wise, it's a tricky period because as world champion, the expectation is that much higher," he says. "In the process, many people forget that he's only 19. Sometimes, he even forgets that he's only 19. It's about managing his own ambitions, he's of course very hungry and just wanting to crush everybody on the board. But the reality is that the competition is very strong and many of his opponents are older, even the very young guys are older than him."
The bigger picture, though, is ensuring that Gukesh continues to become the best version of himself irrespective of formats. "For me," Gajewski says, "the most important thing is for Gukesh to develop as a player not in terms of Classical or Rapid or Blitz... there are many areas to improve and once he improves in those areas he will become stronger in all formats. You just focus on the improvements."
Since the high of Singapore, Gukesh's form across formats has been up and down but there have been some significant wins as well. He has beaten Carlsen twice (once in Classical and once in Rapid) and finishing third in Croatia can also be classified as a high. It's the kind of small incremental changes that's vital to a player's continued development, especially somebody like a Gukesh.
Overall standings: 1. Carlsen 22.5, 2. So 20, 3. Gukesh 19.5; Rapid: 1. Gukesh 14, 2. Jan-Krzysztof Duda 11, 3. Carlsen 10; Blitz: 1. Carlsen 12.5, 2. So 12, 3. Nodirbek Abdusattorov 12 (Gukesh had 5.5);
The other Indian in the field, R Praggnanandhaa, finished with 15 points (nine in Rapid and six in Blitz).