CHENNAI: D Gukesh's magnificent victory over China's Ding Liren in the World Chess Championship in Singapore has brought cheers from thousands of chess aficionados in India and the world over.
The match keenly followed by chess buffs world over has established that India is a superpower in the game of 64 squares. Gukesh is the second Indian after Viswanathan Anand to bag the coveted crown. Incidentally both are from Chennai which is regarded as the 'Mecca of Chess'.
GM Srinath Narayanan, who coached the Indian team comprising Gukesh in the Chess Olympiad where India won a gold medal, doffed his hat to the 18-year-old. "Gukesh's victory transcends the realm of chess. Triumphs like this unite a nation of 143 crore people in celebration. We witnessed this phenomenon during India's 1983 Cricket World Cup win and again when Viswanathan Anand became a World Chess Champion multiple times. Anand's victories inspired a generation of chess players and bolstered the nation's confidence. Similarly, Gukesh's win will spark a ripple effect, inspiring countless young talents to take up chess and dream big," said Srinath from Qatar.
Reacting to Gukesh’s win, his Chess Olympiad teammate GM Harika Dronavalli termed it one of the most historic moments in Indian chess. "The moment he won all his emotions came out at once. As a player, I can clearly understand what he must have gone through during the whole roller coaster ride of the World Championship. He lost, he won, so many winning positions he missed. He had to maintain his composure all through and play and then once he realised that he had won, all the emotions came out. It was too beautiful to watch. He has created history and now I think it will inspire people more. The chess scenario will be even bigger after this win. I am sure there will be many kids who will take up chess."
Back home in Chennai, it was celebration time for all the chess players. The entire chess fraternity in the city were glued to their laptops or mobile phones to watch the final game.
Noted coach and GM RB Ramesh lauded Gukesh for his outstanding feat. "It's an amazing victory. Not just becoming world champion, but also to do it at such a young age, making history in the process," said Ramesh.
At one point in the final game the position was such that everyone expected a draw and thought that a tie breaker would decide the winner on Friday, but that was not to be. "In the beginning (14th game), Ding had an upper hand. Then he tried to oversimplify and lost a pawn, but still it was an easy draw. But finally the nerves caught up with him and he made a blunder and lost," said the coach.
Ramesh has coached several youngsters who had become GMs in their early teens but believed Gukesh beating the legendary Garry Kasparov to become the youngest world champion is the stuff of legends. "Amazing. It is wonderful to become the world champion. So, it is a huge occasion for Indian chess," complimented Ramesh.
The coach says Gukesh's win will be a big boost for Indian chess. "Gukesh has improved a lot as a player. He has made huge progress in the last two years. Yeah, of course he will win many more titles. The win will give him confidence and he will play with a lot more assurance and calmness. This win will be a very huge boost for Indian chess. It has already captured the public's attention. And this win will make sure chess will be noticed at all levels," said Ramesh.
With inputs from Ajay Tomar
