CHENNAI: When Paddy Upton was first approached by D Gukesh’s camp, the South African mental conditioner wasn’t quite sure whether to work with the 18-year-old. While Upton doesn’t have a hard and fast rule about working with younger athletes, he prefers to avoid working with individuals ‘who are young mainly because their sense of self-awareness and ability to self-reflect often hasn’t developed’. Upton, though, straightaway agreed to work with the ‘genius’. In an interview with this daily, the South African also talks about why he sees shades of Virat Kohli in Gukesh and why India’s chess ace has prepared to face the best version of Ding Liren. Excerpts:
On whether he has worked with athletes younger than Gukesh
I have worked with younger athletes, yes. But not very often. I tend not to work with athletes who are too young mainly because their sense of self-awareness and ability to self-reflect often hasn’t developed. For that reason, I was a bit hesitant before saying ‘yes’. I wanted to meet Gukesh, and assess his ability to self-reflect. But it didn’t take very long to realise that he’s a highly skilled individual. It was easy to say ‘yes’.
On his initial conversations with Gukesh
The initial conversations are just to get a sense of each other, generally talk as two humans would... I didn’t dive into anything professional or anything. I wanted to understand from him a little bit about his journey thus far in chess, what got him into chess, what his aspirations are and why he has those aspirations... his intentions, ideas and goals behind that journey. I found very soon that Gukesh is someone who has really thought those things through. He is somebody who is deeply engaged with his life and his journey.
On his experiences of working with chess players before
I have worked with Yuzvendra Chahal (laughs; Chahal was an age-group chess player at the national level). I have calculated this, chess is the 20th different sport I have worked in over the last 25 years... the main difference is that in the other 19 sports, the primary tool of performance was some form of physical attribute. Whether it was bowling, batting, hitting hockey balls... in chess the primary tool is the mind. That was the fascinating thing. In chess, the mind is front and centre as opposed to being a supporting function.
On how he approached this challenge
The principles of success are all universal. Of not over-preparing, of not under-preparing, the concept of overthinking, the concept of pressure, fear, doubts, anxiety, overestimating an opponent, underestimating an opponent, all of those mental obstacles... the principles are the same. The skill is that the principles apply differently to different individuals... whether they are introverts or extroverts. Do they tend to be externally driven or internally driven? Now they are applied differently in different sports. But the principles remain universal. There are no secrets to success.
On some of the current literature about the final labelling Gukesh as the clear favourite
When it comes to playing in a final, there are teams or individuals that overestimate their opponents like it may happen when somebody plays Australia in a WC final because they have won so many finals. It’s also possible to underestimate an opponent. Both of those can be mistakes. The reality is that Ding is the world champion and a year ago he was playing exceptionally good chess that got him the title. The reality is that form can come back in any given moment.
Gukesh is certainly not being lured by the common narrative that he’s the favourite and Ding has been struggling. He’s preparing for the best version of Ding and a true champion needs to beat the incumbent champion at his best. Gukesh is preparing like he’s going to meet Ding in his best form. That’s been the approach for the last six months since winning the Candidates. What can count in Gukesh’s favour is that he’s someone who tends to play his best in the biggest moments.
The chess he played to win the Candidates shows that he has genuine big match temperament. His performance during the Olympiad... there were some clutch moments where he really stepped up under the highest pressure. That’s a gift and he has really worked on it. That’s why I would liken him to Virat Kohli in that regard; Virat is someone who stands up when the pressure is at the highest, like the World Cup final earlier this year. Gukesh has got a similar mental wiring that when the stakes are highest, that’s when he tends to play at his best. Although they are completely different personalities, in this regard, they are similar.