Gukesh will also debut in the top 10 on the end-of-month ratings chart, a rapid leap for a teenager who only entered the top 100 in April 2022. Pentala Harikrishna, who briefly led Anand in the live ratings in 2016, is the only other Indian in the top 10.
Gukesh’s top-10 finish is simply one sign of his potential. The 17-year-old became the youngest player to reach 2750 ratings in July, surpassing Magnus Carlsen. He became the youngest player to defeat the World No. 1 on the board. The 2019 second-youngest GM was the Chennai kid.
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Gukesh has impressed me and others over the past year and a half. Chess is his obsession. He enjoys working and studying the game. He plays with amazing spirit. I believed he could. But now I’m seeing the attitude, tenacity, and willingness to experiment and take chances he’ll need to continue at the top. Anand told The Indian Express from Baku before the FIDE World Cup that he was bold.
What distinguishes him from the many Indian adolescent stars that have emerged in the previous six years?
He disliked internet chess for enjoyment and started using chess engines late.
After 2550, the Chennai boy used an engine. Gukesh’s tutor, India’s 33rd grandmaster GM Vishnu Prasanna, calls him a “very rare exception” in a sport where youngsters as young as seven or eight utilize motors.
“Almost unheard of. He would use an engine in a crisis or blockage. Tournaments frequently tested our theories. The epidemic prevented him from playing in over-the-board contests. Vishnu claimed the epidemic pushed the choice.
Gukesh’s selection to train at the Westbridge Anand Chess Academy, where Anand’s preferred adolescent Indian players worked on openings with computers, also encouraged him to use engines.
Gukesh first met Vishnu in June 2017 at a group training session at his chess academy. Gukesh impressed Vishnu. Vishnu also trained GM Leon Mendonca, so talent was plenty. As he got to know Gukesh, his differences were clear.
He was mature. He was ready for complicated job that others weren’t. He wasn’t playful. He just looked forward. Vishnu stated he was always seeking a path forward.
Since the five-time world champion has cut back on world championship cycle tournaments, Anand said that someone will ultimately catch up to him. Gukesh’s rapid climb is best measured by his outperformance of equally capable peers to reach the top 10.
Indian GMs surged in 2018. Praggnanandhaa R, Nihal Sarin, and Arjun Erigaisi—the future of Indian chess—were among the eight players who gained their last grandmaster norm that year. Gukesh became GM a year after that trio.
He beat his skilled peers throughout the epidemic.
Gukesh remarked, “Before the lockdown I was a normal GM. I wasn’t special. I played nice tournaments around 2550. 2021–2022 transformed my career. I jumped big. Only because of my lockdown work. I never anticipated being here before the lockdown!
In March 2020, during pandemic lockdowns, the teen had a 2563 rating. Before the epidemic, a youngster who played 230 matches a year was frustrated. Gukesh clung on a throwaway comment from world champion Vladimir Kramnik as the future became uncertain. “At the end of the pandemic, we’ll know who used the phase well and who was wasting their time,” the Russian remarked.
Even without a competition, Gukesh repeated his preparations during the epidemic. His preparations were unclear. He doesn’t enjoy online competitions like others. Online chess is a competition. He’ll also play sparring games. He played chess portals less often than others during the shutdown.
“The pandemic’s few online tournaments were mostly classical. He hated internet games. He disliked quick and blitz events until recently. Vishnu said, “The other thing that separates Gukesh from the others in his age group is consistency. He has never lost a big event. He never placed last. Jumping levels and finding your feet is tricky. Leaders are brutal.”
