D Gukesh interview: ‘Casual chat with Magnus Carlsen proved useful… came to Toronto to win Candidates’

When D Gukesh left India to travel to Canada for the Candidates chess tournament, not too many experts had ranked him high on their tier-lists. Magnus Carslen famously said: “I cannot imagine Gukesh winning the Candidates. I think he will certainly win at least a couple of games, but will have some fairly bad losses as well. I don’t think he will do poorly, but I don’t think he will do too well either. He’s not quite ready yet to make the leap. It’s more likely that he has a bad event.”

Carlsen’s predictions were certainly understandable, even if harsh. After all, there was a talented line-up of contenders this year who were all hungry for the top spot, the only position at this particular high-stakes event which matters. This included two-time World Championship contender Ian Nepomniachtchi, the World No 2 Fabiano Caruana, who was playing in his fifth Candidates event, having won it once, and World No 3 Hikaru Nakamura, competing in his third Candidates event.

But for Gukesh, factors like experience, reputations and what others are saying didn’t matter too much.

FIDE Candidates 2024: And it’s a wrap!

The FIDE Candidates Tournament, which captivated audiences for three weeks, is in the books. The Closing Ceremony was held at 1 Hotel Toronto, the residence of the players for almost a month.

The champions, Gukesh D and Tan Zhongyi, were… pic.twitter.com/C5wtEYqQkW

— International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) April 23, 2024

“I came to Toronto with the only intention of winning. Nothing else,” Gukesh told The Indian Express from Toronto. “I knew this was going to be a tough challenge. But I knew if I was going to be at my absolute best, if I do all the right things, I would have every chance. I didn’t see myself as any weaker… I didn’t see my chances as any weaker than the other players at the Candidates.”

For a 17-year-old headed to the biggest stage of his fledgling career, this was remarkable belief to have in oneself. What also stood out about the teenager from Chennai was how unflappable he appeared throughout the tournament, something that even five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand was amazed by, telling The Indian Express, “He’s given the impression of (being in) control.”

The winner of the #FIDECandidates, 🇮🇳Gukesh D @DGukesh and the winner of the Women’s Candidates, 🇨🇳 Tan Zhongyi at the closing ceremony 🏆 pic.twitter.com/HLgyB5Zlb6

— International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) April 23, 2024

Despite how heady a feeling it must be for anyone to win the Candidates, Gukesh still gives the impression of being in control of his emotions.

“Right now I still don’t feel any kind of difference. It’s very nice that I have won the Candidates and I am going to play in the World Chess Championship. I’m very excited. But I’m not really sure how different it was for me,” he admitted two days after becoming the youngest-ever World Chess Championship contender.

Ask him how he manages to stay grounded and he says that he has a painstaking routine that he follows with complete discipline during big-ticket tournaments without any deviations.

“The main thing I focussed on in Toronto was being in the ideal mental state and just playing good chess. I’m extremely happy that I managed to achieve the (mental state I wanted),” he added.

What Carlsen told Gukesh about Candidates

While Anand has been a guiding light in his career, he also got to pick on Carlsen’s brain at the Freestyle Chess G.O.A.T. Challenge event in Germany before the Candidates.

🇮🇳 Gukesh exiting the venue after winning the 2024 #FIDECandidates! 🔥 🤩 pic.twitter.com/REZMIfOO9q

— International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) April 22, 2024

Carlsen had revealed during the final round that he had had a brief chat with Gukesh about the Candidates. For the teenager, two bits of information were particularly helpful from that chat.

“It was not like I asked him for advice. We were just talking in Germany and the topic of Candidates just came up. He asked me a couple of casual questions about the Candidates. Once the topic came up I started asking him about his experiences. I wanted to learn about a couple of things. I didn’t ask him for advice. He shared his experience from 2013, which is what I was hoping he would do. He shared his general thoughts about the long duration of the tournament. It was a very casual chat. One of the things he said was don’t go crazy. Just hearing the thoughts of a great player like him was very nice for me. He was very friendly. Even though it was a light conversation, I found the few things he shared to be very useful. Even sharing his experiences was something that was very nice from him. He told me how tiring it can be and how it’s important to save your energy and not exhaust yourself in the first half.”

Gukesh kept those things in mind. He didn’t take unnecessary risks. Didn’t overexert himself. And despite the defeat to Alireza Firouzja in round 7, he entered the rest day at the halfway stage of the Candidates in a buoyant mood.

“Of course I couldn’t be 100 percent sure till the very, very last moment (that I was going to win). I had the belief from the start, but the moment I really started to feel it was after the seventh round on the rest day. I just thought I was playing very, very good chess. And if I make some tiny modifications and I’m mentally in the right state (it could be done). On the rest day I was fully fresh and energetic. I just felt very good. I thought I was close to the level I wanted to achieve,” he said.

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