Dubai: An 18-year-old with nerves of steel, Gukesh Dommaraju made history in Singapore, becoming the youngest world chess champion after a nail-biting final match.
Gukesh survived some anxious moments before clinching the World Championship in the last of the 14-match series. It was a nervy contest and the pressure was so high that Chinese Grandmaster Ding Liren made a blunder towards the end, handing the challenger the title.
However, the shy teenager credited South African mental conditioning coach Paddy Upton for helping him prepare for such high-pressure situations.
Mental strength under pressure
“Gukesh has a genuine big-match temperament like Virat Kohli and has the same calmness and composure to deliver under pressure like MS Dhoni. He showed that in the FIDE Candidates Chess Tournament 2024, he showed that in the Chess Olympiad in Budapest, and now in the World Championship,” Upton, who joined Gukesh when both players were level at 6 points each after Round 12, told Gulf News from his Cape Town residence.
Upton, part of India’s World Cup-winning cricket team in 2011, was also involved in the Indian hockey team’s preparations for the Paris Olympics, which culminated in a bronze medal. Kohli acknowledged the role of the 56-year-old in helping him in regain his scoring form during the 2022 Twenty20 World Cup in Australia and has worked with several top athletes, including Indian badminton star Lakshya Sen.
“Gukesh has elements of both Kohli and Dhoni, which is unique at any level of international sport. What’s also special for me is that Gukesh is not just a great chess player with an incredible mind capable of delivering under the highest pressure, but he’s also a really impressive human being.
“Immediately after winning, he was super emotional. During the long interview, he spent most of the time talking, paying respects, and honouring his opponent while deflecting attention away from himself. He was humble in victory. He was still the same Gukesh whom you knew before he won the World Championship. For an 18-year-old, that really bodes well for a particularly long and successful career,” Upton added.
Six months of mental preparation
Gukesh began his preparations six months ago, speaking to Upton for 90 minutes a week over the phone — amounting to 40-50 hours of conversation. A clear strategy was in place with a two-page document outlining various scenarios, and no discussions were planned once the championship began.
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Things changed after Round 12 when Gukesh called Upton to discuss the situation. Upton then made the trip to Singapore to witness history being made.
“The fact that he didn’t call me after Game 1 meant he was in control. He was just executing the strategy we had in place. After Game 12, he called me to check and ensure that his thinking was still on track. That just shows the level of his preparation and his mental strength, as well as his ability to execute those strategies.”
The emotional moment
During the 13-hour flight to Singapore, Upton imagined meeting Gukesh for the first time after the Indian teenager’s triumph and embracing him with the words: “You are the world champion, and you deserve it.”
“Interestingly, I had never met Gukesh in person, and I didn’t tell him I was coming over to Singapore. I just sat in the audience, so I didn’t see him during those two games. Amazingly, after Gukesh won, he was on the way to the press conference, and I tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around, and that was the first time we ever met in person.
“He just fell into my arms, and we had this incredible embrace, and the tears just flowed. After a long moment, I stepped back, looked him in the eye, and said exactly what I’d been dreaming about on the flight over: ‘You are the world champion, and you deserve it.’”
A record-breaking victory
The final game on Thursday was a thriller, with Gukesh capitalising on Ding’s endgame blunder to claim the title. In doing so, he shattered the record held by Russia’s Garry Kasparov, who was 22 when he won the crown in 1985.
It was a dream come true for the bearded teenager, who six years earlier had declared: “I want to become the youngest world chess champion.”
The final game on Thursday was a thriller, with Gukesh capitalising on Ding’s endgame blunder to clinch the title. In doing so, he shattered the record held by Russia’s Garry Kasparov, who was 22 when he claimed the crown in 1985.
It was a dream come true for the bearded teenager, who six years earlier had declared: “I want to become the youngest world chess champion.”
Highlights of professional career
Gukesh became India’s youngest grandmaster at 12 years, seven months, and 17 days — one of the youngest in the history of the game. However, after India finished with two gold medals in the Chess Olympiad, Gukesh surprised fans by posting a video of himself dancing exuberantly to a popular Tamil song, clad in traditional attire.
In 2022, Gukesh defeated US No. 1 Fabiano Caruana at the Chess Olympiad and later triumphed over Magnus Carlsen. He reached the world championship by becoming the youngest winner of the prestigious Candidates Tournament in April.
“This is right on top as one of the highlights of my professional career, like winning a World Cup. It’s just huge,” Upton added.
