CHENNAI: EVER since India won twin golds (Open and women’s teams) at the 45th Chess Olympiad in Budapest, the players of both sides have been basking in the richly-deserved adulation.
On Friday, D Gukesh, R Praggnanandhaa, R Vaishali, Srinath Narayanan and Arjun Kalyan, were felicitated by Velammal Nexus (all of them have direct links to the institution during their formative years) for the role all of them played in scripting history in the city on Friday morning.
On the sidelines of the events, Gukesh, gearing up to play the title match against Ding Liren in Singapore in November-December, spoke to select mediapersons.
Excerpts:
On his form right now and focus areas before the title clash
I was feeling good throughout the event (Olympiad). I did some research and the results just showed that. I think I’m doing the right thing and I’m just planning to continue. There are always a lot of things to work on . I’m still learning and I’m just coming up at the top. I have a lot of things to improve and learn. I’m just trying to play some good chess, good games. We’ll have a very exciting match-up against each other.
On his next two months leading up to the match
My next 60-70 days before the match will be a bit of resting, a bit of training, a bit of playing. A bit of physical and mental strengthening. Basically try and keep mentally calm and composed during intense situations. I am going to play in the European Club Cup (in Serbia from October 19-27).
On his trainer
Firstly, a few words about Vishnu (Prasanna) sir. We started our collaboration around when I was 11. It’s been 6 or 7 years with him and I’ve learned a lot. For the last two years, we haven’t really been working together. Right now, my trainer is (Grzegorz) Gajewski. But Vishnu sir continues to be a huge support for me.
On his Olympiad achievements (team gold and back-to-back individual gold)
It’s a really big achievement. Especially considering, last time we didn’t win the gold. This time, I really wanted to win the gold as a team for the country. I am really glad.
On facing Wei Yi rather than Ding
I was prepared for either opponent. He had lost the previous game I think. It’s very understandable. Every player wants to recover after losing a game. I think it’s very understandable for him. I was prepared for both. I wasn’t really worried. It was probably my favourite game of the Olympiad.