Indian chess star Gukesh Dommaraju, 18, dismisses favourite tag for world title clash in S’pore

SINGAPORE – India’s Gukesh Dommaraju has form and youth in his favour but the teenager is not paying much attention to his favourite tag in the showdown against defending champion Ding Liren at the Nov 25-Dec 13 World Chess Championship in Singapore.

The 18-year-old is coming off a starring role at September’s Chess Olympiad in Budapest, where he won nine out of 10 matches to help India claim their first-ever Open title in the tournament.

In April, he became the youngest player to win the Candidates tournament to earn the chance to challenge China’s Ding for the world title.

With his opponent struggling in recent times and seeing a psychologist to deal with mental health issues, several top players such as the United States’ world No. 2 Hikaru Nakamura have labelled Gukesh as the favourite to win at Resorts World Sentosa.

“I don’t believe in these predictions on who are the favourites,” the world No. 5 Gukesh said in a virtual media interview on Oct 15.

“I just think whoever is able to show up every day as the best will win the game eventually.

“I’m just focusing on the process... I just want to enjoy the experience.”

He is not taking his 31-year-old opponent lightly, despite the Chinese grandmaster having taken a nine-month break after becoming world champion in April 2023.

Gukesh said: “I’m preparing for him at his best and no matter what form he is in.

“My job is to just go there and play good chess... (At the top level) it’s the minute details and minor differences between all the players. I’m trying my best to analyse them and use them to my advantage.”

He admitted his youth can be a double-edged sword for the 14-game series of the world title clash.

“Because of my young age, I think I have more energy (as compared to more experienced players) and it’s easier for me to stay focused during long tournaments,” said the teen.

“Everything is new for me, so it’s easier to enjoy than someone like Fabi (American grandmaster Fabiano Caruana) who has been through this world championship cycle so many times, there’s not that kind of baggage for me.

“The disadvantage is obviously I’m not as experienced and I haven’t played as much as them, and I don’t have as much knowledge as them. Till now, it has been a positive thing.”

The youngster was coy about his preparations, revealing only that Polish grandmaster Grzegorz Gajewski would be his trainer in the lead-up to the world championship clash, where he will be facing “extra pressure, more than anything” he has faced before.

Despite his youth, he has displayed a calmness and composure beyond his age, which has contributed to his meteoric rise since picking up chess at seven.

In 2019, he achieved grandmaster status when he was 12 years, seven months and 17 days old, making him the second-youngest grandmaster in history at the time.

What he lacks in experience, he tries to learn from others. The bookshelf in his bedroom unsurprisingly contains many chess books, but it is also filled with autobiographies of athletes, such as Rafael Nadal, Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt.

Gukesh, who also plays cricket, tennis, badminton and table tennis, enjoys reading about these sporting luminaries.

One of his favourite books is Indian shooter Abhinav Bindra’s autobiography – co-written with The Straits Times assistant sports editor Rohit Brijnath – titled A Shot at History: My Obsessive Journey to Olympic Gold and Beyond.

He is inspired by how the shooter bounced back from an unfortunate campaign at the 2004 Athens Games to become India’s first individual Olympic gold medallist in Beijing four years later.

Gukesh said: “After such a heartbreaking loss, it’s amazing to see how he continued to work hard and how motivated he was.

“Even after winning big events, he was still working hard and still doing the right things, so just the dedication and discipline is unbelievable to read about.”

Another source of inspiration for Gukesh is India’s former five-time world champion Vishy Anand, who became the nation’s first chess grandmaster in 1988.

He credits the pioneer for playing a key role in promoting the game and helping to shape India into a chess powerhouse.

With the world championship being held in Asia and featuring an all-Asian cast for the first time, Gukesh hopes it will boost the growth of the game in the region.

Gukesh said: “I hope that chess in Asia becomes even more popular.

“We’re seeing some nice growth already, not just in India but China has also been a superpower, Uzbekistan is also catching up. There’s a lot of potential.”