The modesty and extraordinary mental maturity of the Indian Dommaraju Gukesh are not what one would expect from an 18-year-old world champion. When he was 11, his parents risked changing their lives so that the boy could develop his great talent for chess, and they instilled in him the iron determination that he now shows. He estimates that the Chinese Liren Ding, his rival in the Singapore duel, and himself have played “at 50%” of their best level. He recognizes the Norwegian Magnus Carlsen as the best and wants him as a rival in the final for the 2026 title.
Gukesh receives Morning Express impeccably dressed after celebrating a lot and sleeping little after his unexpected victory on Thursday in the last game – he was at a disadvantage after the opening and then everything indicated that it would end in a draw – which he attributes to mental strength, which he In turn, he relates it to the “great work” of his psychologist, the South African Paddy Upton, a specialist in cricket and rugby but with hardly any knowledge of chess.
That emphasis on psychological preparation is very rare in elite chess. The Russian Ian Niepómniashi, world runner-up in 2021 and 2023, became angry in public (Madrid Candidates Tournament, 2022) when the above signatory asked him if working with a specialized psychologist could correct his main weakness, recovery after defeats . Hours later, in private, he clarified: “Chess is different from all other sports. “I don’t think a psychologist can understand our minds.”
Gukesh sees it differently: “NiepoHe may be partially right, but chess is the mental sport par excellence, and it undoubtedly has common factors with other sports. Although I also take care of my physical preparation, since I became Ding’s challenger I was very clear that the mental aspect was key. I told my sponsor [Westbridge Capital, empresa con grandes inversiones en India]and within half an hour they put me in touch with Paddy. He has helped me polish small details, such as sleep hygiene, maintaining concentration, having a psychological plan… that can be decisive.” And he concludes: “My level of play here has not been even close to the maximum I can give, but mentally I have remained very strong throughout the duel, especially after the twelfth game, which I lost.”
Apart from the psychologist, the most striking thing in Gukesh’s career for a European is something quite common in India since the successes of five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand turned chess into a national passion, competing with cricket, field hockey and badminton: quite a few fathers and mothers change jobs and lives because a son or daughter shows great talent. “I’ve thought about that a lot. Why did my parents trust so much in a 7-year-old boy who played chess quite well, with the risk that my father would leave his professional career? [es cirujano] four years later to promote mine. Now that I’m old enough to understand all that, it’s still a mystery. But the important nuance is that, in my case, it was a calculated risk, because we are a middle class family, and my mother [microbióloga] It also works…”
This attitude of the parents had a component of personal frustration: “In their youth, they were not able to develop their passions, and they wanted me to be able to do so. So, when I was 10, they suggested I take a year off from school, playing tournaments, to see how much progress I made. It was a fantastic year, I gained a lot in sports, and then my parents made the decision that I would dedicate myself only to chess.” Precisely the national idol Anand, who never stopped going to school, is very reluctant to these decisions: “Every time we talk since I stopped going to school, Vishy He advises me to do everything possible to have a general culture. And I try to pay attention to him.”
There is unanimity in the specialized press in considering that Ding, in crisis since winning the title in April 2023, has played well below his level in Singapore. Would Gukesh have won the best Ding, the one from 2019, when Carlsen considered him his most fearsome rival? “If I played like I did here, I would have almost certainly lost, because my inexperience and the uncertainty of which Ding I was going to face have affected me negatively. Now, if I had been clear that I was going to face the 2019 Ding, that would have been a stimulus, and I think I would have also been able to perform at my best level.”
What do you base such a belief on? “I want to remember that when I won the Candidates Tournament in Toronto, in April, I did not have any losing position against the best in the world, except the game I lost with [el francés Alireza] Firouzja. I also played very well at the Budapest Chess Olympiad two months ago. Therefore, with both of us at our best level, I still think I would be a slight favorite.”
The iron will of the youngest world champion in history began to take shape in 2013, at the age of 7: “When I attended the Carlsen-Anand World Cup in Chennai as a spectator [India]I thought it would be a dream to be on that glass stage one day. Three weeks later, when Carlsen won the duel, my thinking changed: ‘I hope I can be the one to bring the title back to India,’ I told myself. Then, at age 11, I announced publicly that my goal was to be the youngest world champion in history. Here, when I entered the glass stage on the first day and saw the Indian flag on the table, it was a very happy moment, although then I lost that game.”
What he needs to complete the magic circle is to beat Carlsen, who remains the undisputed number one,but he resigned in 2023 to compete in the World Championship cycle. The Norwegian usually says that great challenges motivate him a lot. Would it be a big challenge to win back the world title against Gukesh in 2026? “I think his main reason for resigning is that he does not want to spend several consecutive months every two years preparing against a single rival because it is very hard work. Now, if he changes his mind, plays the Candidates and wins, it would be an honor for me to defend the title against him. And the best way to get all my energy out of myself and see how far I am capable of going. But it is a matter that depends on him; I will respect your decision.”
When asked about the key to his victory, he once again talks about psychological preparation: “Although I was mentally prepared to lose the first game, it was very hard. But I met Anand in the elevator, who only told me that I had thirteen games to recover, and that comforted me. I also spoke to Paddy [el psicólogo]. The general strategy was to put as much pressure as possible in each game. It didn’t work well in several, but it did in the most important one.” All of this fits with one of its vital principles: “If you always do what you should, at some point it will be very profitable.”
