D Gukesh’s father names Indian Grandmaster for ‘big role’ in World Chess C’ship win: ‘He invited to his home after…’

D Gukesh is now a name synonymous with India, after the 18-year-old scripted history by becoming the youngest-ever world chess champion. The Indian Grandmaster defeated defending champion Ding Liren at the World Chess Championship in Singapore recently, qualifying for the showdown after winning the Candidates Tournament.

The match entered the decisive fourteenth game, and it looked like it was going according to Liren’s plan as the Chinese Grandmaster tried to force out a tie-breaker. But a massive blunder in the 55th move saw him resign and concede to Gukesh in a famous defeat.

Which senior Indian Grandmaster played a ‘big role’ in D Gukesh’s World Championship victory?

Speaking to ChessBase India, Gukesh’s father Rajnikanth gave credit to a senior Indian Grandmaster for playing a ‘big role’ in his son’s growth, and it wasn’t Viswanathan Anand.

Harikrishna is a 38-year-old Grandmaster from Andhra Pradesh, and achieved a peak world ranking of 10 in 2016, and a peak ELO rating of 2770 in 2016.

Gukesh’s father said, “Gukesh and Hari worked together for a week in 2022 and then Gukesh kept up his upward trajectory by winning the Gijon Open, crossing 2700 Elo in Biel and then the Chennai Olympiad 2022 performance when he won the individual gold and team bronze.”

“Hari was kind enough to invite Gukesh to his home after he crossed 2650. He had mentioned that he was impressed with Gukesh’s game. I believe that one week of intense camp at Hari’s place played a big role in Gukesh’s growth back then. He then helped him at the Candidates and also for the World Championship Match and I am very thankful for his efforts and guidance,” he added.

Gukesh’s win sent social media into meltdown as former and current players lauded him. But he also got a mixed reaction from some, including Magnus Carlsen. Carlsen has already publicly denied the idea of challenging Gukesh for the World C’ship title. The pair are set to face each other in February in the Freestyle Chess Grandslam, and also in Norway later.