Indian grandmaster Gukesh D made history on Monday by becoming the youngest player in the world to win the 2024 FIDE Candidates Chess Championship. The 17-year-old, who qualified for the World Championship finals with his victory, is already eager to compete with China’s Ding Liren in the finals. In an exclusive chat with NDTV, Gukesh gave an insight into the mental battle he had to fight as he hoped to win the Candidates Championship and write history for his country.
“From the beginning, I knew it was going to be a high-pressure event. It is one of the most challenging events in chess. I handled the pressure well and maintained a good mental state throughout the tournament ,” Gukesh told New Delhi TV.
When asked about how it felt to win the game and advance to the World Championship final, the teenager said: “It means a lot to me. I have always dreamed of winning the World Championship. This is a big step towards realizing that dream.”
Indian chess has come a long way in the past two years and Gukesh hopes to see this trend continue in the coming years.
“Chess has become very popular in India in recent years. I all started with Mr. Viswanathan Anand. He was the originator of the chess craze in India. In recent years, the pandemic After that, people are generally interested in chess. It is a great era for chess in India and I hope there are many chess enthusiasts during this period.”
In the final of the World Championships, Gukesh said that winning the championship has always been his dream and he is eager to compete with the defending champion Ding Junhui.
“First of all, I am very eager to compete. Ling is a strong chess player. I will try my best. I will try to play well throughout the game and try my best. Hopefully things will work out for me Way to end. Favor,” asserted the 17-year-old.
Gukesh is also the second Indian player to win the Candidates Championship after Viswanathan Anand in 2014.
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