World Chess Championship 2024: The plan was to exhaust Ding Liren, explains Gukesh’s coach Gajewski

After D. Gukesh lost his 12th game in the World Chess Championship to Ding Liren, he made peace with himself. He told his coach Grzegorz Gajewski, “I am feeling fine, I am ready to fight him and for the tie-breaks.”

That was the moment Gajewski realised that he did not need to be worried about his ward. “He said all those things to me without hesitation,” the Polish Grandmaster, who headed the 18-year-old’s formidable support staff, tells The Sportstar. “He finally made his peace with the fact that his opponent is a World champion and he also wants to win.”

He says he was not concerned after Gukesh’s defeat in the opening game. “In his regard, I am very happy that he started with a loss,” says the coach who has been part of the WestBridge Anand Chess Academy.

“Because, if you start with a loss, you quickly wake up from the dream.”

Gajewski prepared Gukesh for the best version of Ding, not the one who had been going through poor form and who had gone on record about his mental health issues. “I told him that the man became the World champion, and it was not a coincidence,” he says. “He might have a difficult period, but he will bring his very best for the match. And he will fight like crazy. That is exactly what happened.”

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About Gukesh rejecting virtual offers of a draw, Gajewski says that was how he thought the match could be won. “That was the overall strategy, to exhaust the opponent,” he explains.

Gajewski says calculation and deep knowledge are the major strengths of Gukesh. “He is one of the best calculators after Anand, who is the best ever in that department,” he says. “And he is also a bit like a young Fabiano Caruana.”