Candidates 2024: We’ll aim to stay as number one for a few years, says Gukesh’s coach, Vishnu Prasanna

Both D. Gukesh and his coach, Grandmaster Vishnu Prasanna, are close to achieving one of their biggest goals of Gukesh becoming the World champion, courtesy of the 17-year-old winning the Candidates tournament in Toronto on Monday and becoming the youngest-ever challenger for the world championship title.

So, how did Prasanna, who’s been coaching Gukesh since he was 11, feel after the win?

“I was very happy. I think it’s a very difficult event. The last few days were tense, because it was always close and we were so close to the goal,” he said over the phone.

Gukesh won five games and just lost one, against France’s Alireza Firouzja in the seventh round, in his 14-round title-winning run.

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Asked if he was constantly in touch with his ward during the event, the coach said: “No, we only messaged a couple of times. I messaged him after the loss saying, ‘Your first few games showed that you still have a chance. Don’t worry about this result. You still have a clear chance. So, just continue to do what you’re doing.’

“He said, ‘I am feeling fine. I was a bit upset, but now I’ve recovered. I’m looking forward to the future games.’

“Otherwise, it was mainly between (Grzegorz) Gajewski and him.”

Winning the Chennai Grand Masters Chess Championship in December last year, was pivotal in Gukesh qualifying for the Candidates tournament. He’d had a “stressful” few months coming into that event in Chennai. Gukesh said that it was a phase where he’d felt he was at his lowest. The Chennai win chuffed him up big time. He said that he could finally get the impression of what it feels like to play like himself (his old confident self).

Prasanna highlighted how Gukesh had “rested more than usual” after the Chennai event, in the build-up to the Candidates.

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“Mostly, it was just the usual stuff. Training camps with Gajewski, and also we both did some training camps.

“And one thing he did, he rested a bit more than usual. In March, he was home for a longer period and he was in a bit less stress and he was sleeping well.”

During preparation, Prasanna felt very optimistic about his ward’s chances of winning the Candidates.

“I definitely thought he had chances. It’s a very hard event. But I thought he was already in his best shape. There was nothing more that we could do. But, I mean, I wouldn’t say that I am not surprised or something.

“We have to go to the tournament with the aim of winning, right? Nothing else matters. I felt that every day after the Chennai event, he was improving both mentally and chess-wise. So, I thought he was getting better every day. That was a clear sign for me that he was heading in the right direction.

“There is never any certainty of victory. Even in the last game (at Candidates), I obviously was not sure whether we will win or not. It’s too difficult to predict this and too difficult to execute also,” he said.

Prasanna had previously said that Gukesh “was a lot disciplined and matured for an 11-year-old” when he first came to him. “He had a lot of positional sense, which young kids usually don’t have; they play for tricks,” he’d observed.

Asked if he’d ever thought that Gukesh would achieve such a feat at just 17, he said: “What can I say? He’s just in a hurry! I mean, I didn’t know if he would do this at 17. Apart from the age, I think chess-wise he was ready. That’s what I would say.

“So, I felt he was ready. But even if he hadn’t done well, it was perfectly fine. Psychologically, that maturity to achieve that is the biggest difficulty.”

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Speaking of the impact of this historic win on Indian chess, he said: “Well, I think Indian chess is again going to go through another boom. So many people are already watching this, right? Indian chess will definitely have a good boom.”

For the highly ambitious Gukesh, the aspiring World champion, chess has been life-consuming. Talking about it, Prasanna said: “So, basically, you won’t know any holidays. There’s no Diwali. There’s no Saturday, Sunday.

“It’s hard to make friends outside in your locality. You won’t be so relatable to them. So, those things, right? And now, only the last year, he’s had some time to play (Chess) locally (in Chennai). And he has some friends here (in Chennai). But otherwise, it’s not an easy thing to manage; (this kind of life is) not for everybody, is what I would say.”

But Gukesh just won’t stop playing chess. Prasanna has already spoken about Gukesh’s no-break attitude. And he reckons that they would be chasing the other biggest aim of getting to the World No. 1 ranking and sustaining it, if Gukesh ticks off becoming the World champion.

“I mean, if you want to dominate the sport, you have to spend a few years dominating it. So, we’ll just try to stay as number one for a few years. And then, probably… I don’t know what he’ll do!”

Well, at the moment, it seems there’s no limit to what Gukesh may aim to do!