I think Gukesh’s play was excellent for a debut World Championship match. He was against Ding, who has a bit more experience, especially because of the match against Nepomniachtchi.
Gukesh handled this first game defeat quite well. Obviously, Gukesh had come into the match very ambitious and ready to battle. I think his first game also showed some rookie mistakes. But, you know, he took it in stride.
He seemed seem calm and struck back in the third. The third game was excellent preparation on his part. Then, again in the fifth game, there was a bit of hesitation.
Gukesh played a surprising line, drifted a bit, got into big trouble, and was lucky that Ding let him escape. After that, once again, I think he managed to put pressure in multiple games. I think the real surprise for him, maybe the weakest points for him, were the two opportunities he missed in Game 7 and 8. Of course, by no means are they easy and trivial. It’s very easy to sit outside and talk about misses. But from these two games, it would have been reasonable to expect at least one win. Especially in the eighth game, the position was fairly simple.
In Game 7, Gukesh found a lot of great stuff and then let go at the end when it was maybe a bit easier. I think calmly getting past a couple of games and striking in Game 11 was good. What happened in Game 12 was a missed opportunity.
He could have done a better job, simply. Again, nobody likes to criticise people who are actually in the pit, but I think in Game 12, Gukesh’s level was really quite low. The lowest in the match, maybe.
But it shows the spirit that, once again, after the rest day, Gukesh came in with no thoughts of a quiet game. He just went all out in Game 13 – not in a crazy way, but in a very prepared fashion. He found a good idea and was ready to confront Ding again.
As it typically happens, mistakes start occurring. Ding gave him at least one golden chance and a stable advantage for a lot of the game. But then he got to experience Ding’s defensive skills and ability to cope with time pressure.
Gukesh was playing an opponent who seemed to have huge troubles dealing with time but managed to rise to the occasion when needed. Ding played extremely well but seemed hesitant to take advantage of his own play in several games.
I think the impact of Gukesh’s win on Indian chess will be huge. It will be funny, of course, seeing the impact of a world champion but not being it. Gukesh will get a lot of people interested in the game, especially youngsters.
Obviously, from the time I’ve worked with him, I think he’s exceeded even my optimistic scenarios very, very fast. In 2022, he had a great growth spurt. 2024 as well has been fantastic for him.
But even the moments when it was slow, he kept working hard, kept growing. In that sense he has been very easy to work with. Of course, I’ve tried to share my experience with him. Maybe not that much during the match. I mean, essentially, my influence in his team is quite clear. Obviously, if they needed something, they would reach out. I think the arrangements were all set and he did it very well. Once everything is set up, you just have to let them run.
(As told to Susan Ninan)
