OSLO: Friday afternoon on the fjords of Oslo, the travelling Indian press corps finally got the chance to see a different side of D Gukesh. Originally assigned to be part of one of the two sailing boats in the annual Norway Chess Games — an initiative novel to this tournament as they use one of their two rest days to promote bonhomie and camaraderie with the players — the world champion decided he want to switch a faster, more mobile speed boat.
So the 20-year-old celebrated his birthday by quite literally jumping from his sail boat to the speed boat in the middle of the 'race'. Post the race, the Indian, who was serenaded by chants of 'happy birthday' by fellow players, said he had a lot of fun driving the speed boat. He even asked the CEO of Norway Chess, Kjell Madland, if he could play around with it again as well. In fact, after watching Gukesh, the likes of R Praggnanandhaa and Divya Deshmukh also hopped on to the speed boat once the 'Games' had officially come to a close following a two-hour cruise around the fjords.
This was a much-needed respite for the world champion who has been battling some indifferent form for sometime now. In fact, on the first four days at Norway Chess, he has largely avoided the Indian media even if that has meant other people setting the narrative or the agenda.
What made the occasion on Friday that bit more intriguing was that Javokhir Sindarov, Gukesh's opponent at the World Championship later this year, was in charge of the same speed boat minutes earlier. Because the Uzbek is here in an unofficial capacity — his role in Oslo lies in supporting friend Bibisara Assaubayeva — he couldn't officially be a part of the Games. So he settled for the next best option. Following the two teams in the speed boat. Before that, he was sitting down and chatting informally with some of the journalists (he's expected to have a sit down with the Indian media on Saturday).
Both of them opted to switch in the middle of the race so Gukesh actually drove the speed boat back to base while Sindarov's boat docked soon after. It was all very friendly between the pair; the Uzbek player, the elder of the two by five-and-a-half months, happily joined in when the first chants of 'happy birthday' started from some of the non-playing members.
But the fun and games didn't last long as all players retreated back to their rooms by 4.00 PM. For Gukesh, the next set of matches represents an opportunity as he desperately needs some wins to move up the leaderboard (he's currently last after four rounds). And there's a proper Saturday blockbuster waiting as he faces Praggnanandhaa.
