Chess prodigy Gukesh packs a punch
Tamil Nadu is famous for, among others, Rajinikanth and chess.
Now, when the two names somehow combine what do you get? Well, a Grandmaster, who at 12 years, 7 months and 17 days, is the youngest Grandmaster India has ever produced.
Welcome to the world of D Gukesh, who scored the needed GM points at the Delhi Open on Tuesday to become India’s youngest GM, beating the previous record of Tamil Nadu’s Praggnnanandhaa (who got to his GM norm at 12 years, 10 months and 13 days).
For the record, Gukesh is the second youngest in the world to become the GM (he missed the Sergey Karajakin record by just 19 days). Gukesh is India’s 59th GM.
We will now come to the Rajinikanth part: Gukesh’s father’s name is Rajinikanth. This ENT doctor in a Chennai hospital has more or less given up his professional career just to travel with his talented son and help him win greater laurels in the world of chess. Gukesh’s mother Padmapriya is also a doctor. She is still practising and helping to run the household.
From India’s first International Master Manuel Aaron, who grew up in Tamil Nadu, to Vishwanathan Anand, former World Champion and India’s first GM in 1988, and to Gukesh now, Tamil Nadu is keeping its image as the chess capital of India alive.
There is hardly any surprise in Gukesh’s rise to the top. “It was only a question of when and not whether,” says Shyam Sundar, a sports journalist in Chennai.
Gukesh got his first IM norm in October 2017 and his Elo rating was 2323. From then to Jan 15, 2019, it has been a never-ending sequence of events. In 16 months flat, Gukesh achieved 3 IM norms, 3 GM norms and his rating is now at 2500. “It has been a spectacular rise. But since he was spotted as a talented youngster, it is not totally surprising,” says Shyam Sundar.
According to Sagar Shah of Chess Base, the rise of 189 Elo rating points is in itself amazing. “But what is even more impressive is the number of rated games that Gukesh has played — 276 games in 16 months,” Shah wrote. This works out to two tournaments every month for the last 16 months.
To give a contrast, the general norm is most GMs play 100 rated games a year. Gukesh has done over 200 in a year.
The question to ask is, is Gukesh playing too many tournaments? Is he burning himself out? Not really, say many observers in Chennai. “It is not exactly uncommon for ambitious parents to drive an exacting schedule for their wards. But in the case of Gukesh, the young man looks very focused, and seriously loves the games,” says a coach in Chennai.
Gukesh’s coach Vishnu Prasanna himself says that the lad has a strong mental ability to handle pressure. He is always willing to learn and stays curious, he adds.
On the board, Gukesh’s strengths are his strategic nous and he spots and understands most variations adroitly.
Both his parents understand the needs of Gukesh and say he has been given the space to do his own thing. They are smart and empathetic enough to not push him too hard, yet at the same time not be laidback to let his talent go waste for want to encouragement.
In that sense, like Gukesh, they too are making the right moves.
