STAVANGER: On some days, sport doesn't lend itself to analysis. That can come later. On days like Sunday, when the margins were razor thin till they were not, it came down to emotion and catharsis from two of the biggest names in chess -- Magnus Carlsen, the world No. 1 and D Gukesh, the world champion.
In the end, Gukesh, who picked up his first over-the-board Classical win over Carlsen, came out of the playing hall, celebrated with a fist-bump with his coach Grzegorz Gajewski before being taken to two studio interviews at the venue. At the opposite end of the spectrum, Carlsen, after realising his blunder, slammed the chess board which sent pieces flying in all directions.
He resigned before letting out an exasperated 'Oh my God' inside the playing hall. It stunned the fans who were seated inside as chess' best seldom allow their emotion to come out in this way. To be fair, the Norwegian five-time world champion, who still continues to lead Norway Chess after six rounds, patted the Indian teen on his back, said sorry before storming off the scene. He didn't even stop for a cursory interview on his way out.
For over 90 minutes, Carlsen wasn't just comfortable. He was winning comfortably. For some of those 90 minutes, Gukesh considered the possibility of resigning. He had next to no counterplay and he was dying by a 1000 moves. The Norwegian was gradually but surely positioning his pieces to land the killer blow that would trap the exposed white king in a knight-rook endgame.
That's when he made a blunder (52. Ne2+). Gukesh didn't just get chances at counterplay, there was now a clear path to checkmate. It was a blunder because after exchanges, in a pawn race, the Indian was in a better position to queen.
"I don't know, I'm still kind of shaken from that game," was his immediate response to TV2, the official broadcaster. "I don't know what happened, basically. There wasn't much I could do, it was clearly lost. I was just trying to make moves which kind of was tricky for him and luckily he got into time scramble. One thing I learned from this tournament was time scrambles can go out of control."
Gukesh admitted that he was trying to get some counterplay with Ng5. Even when he found that square, Carlsen was still winning. But because he made some miscalculations per the engine, his opponent kept growing into the game. After his blunder on the 52nd, the Indian blasted open that hole and placed his tank on the World No. 1's backyard.
"In this endgame, I was trying to get some kind of Ng5. And, luckily, after Kf6 and h4 (39th Carlsen move and Gukesh's 40th move)... probably he was winning and I have some spite checks (when opponents delay inevitable checkmates). 99 out of 100 times I would lose... just a lucky day. First Classical win over Magnus, not the way I expected (or) wanted it to be but I will take it."
The last 30 minutes caught everybody including the organisers by surprise. In fact, they were getting ready for the local favourite to do two interviews onsite and they were putting in place the logistics. Once the tables turned, they quickly pivoted to getting Gukesh to agree to 'two short studio interviews'. Usually, Viswanathan Anand, one of the very few Indian players to have an over-the-board Classical win over Carlsen, would have been present with the official broadcaster. But the former World No. 1 had to fly to Italy to take part in a two-game 'Class of Generation' exhibition encounter against Argentina's Faustino Oro (the 11-year-old lost 0-2).
When the anchor asked what this day would mean for him, he said 'special'.
Gajewski, the recipient of a fair few fist-bumps over the last few years, admitted he has seldom been on the receiving end of one with that much force. He had the look of a proud parent as soon as Gukesh came out of the playing hall. "It just gives him a huge bump of confidence," the Pole GM said. "Because once you have done it, you know you can do it again. And that's the plan."
When the Indian world champion turned around and gave a reassuring look to his father, Dr Rajinikanth, and Gajewski before walking down the staircase and into the playing hall before 5.00 PM on Sunday, he knew he was fighting against history (lost two, drawn three against Carlsen in this format. But he also knew he had a shot at history.
When he opened that door to come outside four hours later, he had broken the streak.
