Gukesh Dommaraju has experienced a turbulent reign as the World Chess champion, with his recent results not helping his cause. Legends of chess have questioned his right to the throne. Russian Grandmasters Garry Kasparov and Anatoly Karpov have openly criticised the Indian.
Karpov was particularly vicious at the 19-year-old, saying, "Gukesh became world champion by accident because he was not supposed to win the match against Ding Liren… Officially, it’s Gukesh, but because Carlsen stopped playing. And so Carlsen, if he wanted to, could take the crown back.”
“It’s still clear that Magnus is the strongest, and Gukesh is yet to prove his superiority over others.”
Kasparov, whose record of being the youngest chess world champion was broken by Gukesh, stated, “Gukesh won fair and square, but you can hardly call him the strongest player in the world. I don’t want to sound offensive, but I think Magnus ended the era of classical world champions. “It’s still clear that Magnus is the strongest, and Gukesh is yet to prove his superiority over others.”
However, WestBridge Capital co-founder Sandeep Singhal shared his thoughts on World Champion Gukesh Dommaraju in a recent ChessBase India interview, emphasising that a tournament or one year doesn’t define a player like him. Whether he defends his title or not isn’t the focus.
But the question is: does Gukesh have the belief, the right mindset, and the mental fortitude to turn results in his favour? For now, he has his parents and former Indian cricket team mental conditioning coach Paddy Upton, who are his huge support system. “ My parents are my huge support system. Obviously, working with Paddy also helps. He has always been there whenever I need. Especially in tough tournaments, talking with him gives clarity. Having such people who understand what goes on in a sportsperson’s head is really quite nice,” Gukesh said a couple of weeks ago.
So it seems, as of now, he is unfazed and unwilling to let the pressure get to him.
Rahul Sadhu currently works as a sports journalist with Sports Now. He started his journalism career as a reporter for Deccan Chronicle, where he cove...View More
Source: India Latest News, Breaking News Today, Top News Headlines | Times Now
