Interview with Gukesh D: Roles of Magnus and Vishy, His Routine, Music, Series, and The Future Plans

In Round 10 of the 2024 FIDE Candidates, GM Gukesh Dommaraju made a draw against GM Ian Nepomniachtchi to keep his first place on the standings board. In a recent interview with World Chess, Gukesh talks about his experiences as a grandmaster and professional chess player in India, including the pressure he faced in obtaining his title at a young age. He also shares his views on the roles of Magnus Carlsen and Viswanathan Anand in his development as a player to close his interview with some insights into his daily routine, his interests in music and series, and his future plans.

Were there any sacrifices in order to become a grandmaster at the age of 12 years and 7 months?

I became India’s youngest grandmaster in history, which was held by Praggnanandhaa before I made the title. Before I got into chess, I was like a normal kid going to school and stuff. I can’t really complain. I don’t think I made any huge sacrifices, because I enjoy chess and I enjoy what I’m doing. So, more than my sacrifices, I would say my parents had to go through a lot of struggles, because it’s not very easy to quit school and just fully focus on chess to make the decision and they had to go through a lot of sacrifices. I’m grateful for them in believing in me. Personally, I don’t think I made any sacrifices because I’m just enjoying life.

How did you manage the pressure from media and the chess audience at this young age?

The year when I was trying to break the record for the youngest grandmaster in history, I went through a lot of pressure, but not because of media or any outside influences, but just I valued the record a lot and I just put myself under so much pressure. That one year, it was very tough, but I learnt a lot of lessons, like how to handle these pressures and how to handle expectations. I learnt a lot and after I made the title, I realized that the amount of pressure I put myself through was just not worth it.

What challenges did you have growing up as a chess player in India?

Chess is very popular in India. There are a lot of youngsters as everyone knows and the competition is extremely high and I think that’s a very healthy thing, because it motivates everyone to work harder to get better at chess. The main struggles my parents were going through were financial. We were finding it difficult to travel abroad and play tournaments on a regular basis, but also we didn’t really have any sponsors or funding, so we went through a lot of financial difficulties. Our family, and friends helped us a lot to get through that period and I think that is the main thing that Indians mostly face; financial troubles. Now there are some sponsors, the interest in chess has increased, so I guess it will be easier from now for all the youngsters.

Are you hot-tempered and emotional? How do you deal with stress?

I would say that when I was younger, maybe a few years back, I used to be so emotional, I used to get angry a lot and I was just very short-tempered. Once I started to focus on my mental fitness as well, just doing some meditation, some yoga, and stuff like that, it really helped me calm down. Few years back, I used to handle pressure so badly; it used to be a torture. Now I am more able to control myself, and control my emotions. I tried to work with a psychologist before, and for sure it had some plus points, but now I don’t really work with anyone, I discuss it with my trainers, my friends and others. I try to make sure that I am in the best state of mind to give my best at any point.

How do you deal with stress and losing?

I am still very upset when I lose games and when I feel like I didn’t do what was in my control, it still frustrates me a lot, but I am able to get over losses quickly. A few years back, it took me like the whole tournament to forget about the loss; it now takes me around like half an hour, one hour to get into the right state of mind, so I am able to recover quickly. Even after winning, I don’t get too excited! One of the tricks I followed was that irrespective of the result, I just start thinking about what I am going to do in the next game.

What is your trick to overcome loss quickly?

I do some yoga or go for some walks. It’s always nice to get some fresh air! Sometimes I listen to my favourite music or something like that.

What is your greatest strength in chess and your biggest weakness?

I think my main strength has always been my calculation and weaknesses I would say there are just too many; there are still a lot of areas that I need to work on, but for sure my strength has always been my calculation.

How do you feel when people like Fabiano Caruana think you are going to become an elite player?

Actually most of the time I don’t follow what people say about me. But if someone says something directly to me, I take it as a compliment. It’s a nice thing when your heroes are complimenting you, they believe in you. It’s a nice feeling, but I don’t take it too much to heart, whatever they say.

Who are the 3 best players of all time?

Fischer, Kasparov and Carlsen for sure, the top three, but in which order is very tricky! In my opinion I would say maybe Fischer is the greatest of all time. He didn’t have a long career, but from the games that I have seen, from how dominant he was at his peak, it feels like he is just the purest genius of our game and maybe second is Kasparov and third is Magnus. But this is just my opinion!

Who is the toughest opponent for you?

I think Magnus is the toughest to prepare and play against, because to prepare against him is almost impossible because he plays so many things. It’s hard to prepare against any top player, but of course Magnus is clearly the best player in the world, so it’s natural that he is the toughest opponent for anyone.

Were you inspired by Magnus?

Actually when I was starting out in chess, it was always Vishy Anand sir for me. He is just a national hero in India and everyone in India just loves him. He’s also part of the reason why I started playing chess, so for a long time it was only Vishy Anand sir who was an inspiration for me. Once I started to grow up, and get better, I started to appreciate other players as well, all the top players and maybe in last couple of years I am appreciating Magnus’s games so much more. If I have to say who is my role model, as a chess player and as a person, I would say always Vishy sir.

Why is chess good for you?

Why I like chess is because of how complex it is! It has been played for so many years and still people don’t understand it and it’s always amusing for me. Chess is just a very good mental exercise and I would recommend it to everyone.

Watch the rest of the interview here: