MAHABALIPURAM: In one corner was Alexei Shirov, one of the most aggressive players of the modern era. Sitting opposite him, eyeball-to-eyeball length, was D Gukesh, a player in the middle of a wave. A few weeks ago, he had become one of the youngest ever to breach the 2700 club. If this match was going to be decided on experience, Shirov would win. The Spaniard had become a GM in 1990, 16 years before Gukesh was born.
Even leaving aside the aspect of experience, the Spaniard, who lost to Viswanathan Anand in the final of the World Championship in 2000, was favourite the moment the draw was made on Monday. For, the 50-year-old was playing with white. All chess engines agree that there is always an advantage when you open. So, Gukesh, playing with black for a third time in five games, at some level, would always be reacting.
So, the teenager decided to mix it up a bit. He decided to provoke Shirov from the start. Older heads may have decided to engage him in a slowburner but the kids think differently. He initiated an exchange of queens in the 23rd move knowing it would weaken the Spaniard’s position if the latter took up that offer. Shirov obliged and Gukesh knew all that provocation from the start had produced the desired results. “I had the same (provoking him) from the start,” he said after the match.
“My strategy was to provoke him. He is a very aggressive player and couldn’t resist.” Such a calculated strategy is why many people within the game feel that he has one of the highest ceilings among this current batch of wunderkinds. Gukesh, whose live ratings (2714.1) puts him in third place among Indians (after Anand and P Harikrishna), though, is nonplussed about all the attention. “I just try to play my game,” he said. “I am not sure if things are happening too fast. Only time will tell. For now, things are going well.” That’s an understatement. He has won all five of his games.
This very clear strategy and the ability to think without worrying about opponents — one of the biggest aspects of chess is playing the board and not the player — is the strength of the B team that continues to lead the leaderboard in the Open section after five rounds. In relation to this Olympiad, this is the biggest win by an Indian player. Apart from Gukesh, Adhiban B won while Nihal Sarin drew. However, it wasn’t all smooth sailing for the team as R Praggnanandhaa lost.