Oslo: How does one deal with the shift from wanting to win a world title to not wanting to lose it—something that has become one’s prefix, central to one’s identity? It is a question D Gukesh is confronted with this year as he prepares to defend his title.
Asked if he had any preference of where he would want to play the World Championship match, Gukesh was prompt to pick home turf. “In India, it’s a lot of people and a lot of energy. It’ll be really cool to play in India.” Gukesh could very well have his way with Uzbekistan unlikely to bid given its freezing conditions in late November-December when the match is scheduled to be held. Bids close on May 31.
Two years ago, Gukesh became the world chess champion at 18. Later this year, he will return for the match against Uzbek challenger Javokhir Sindarov with the task of proving he is still good enough to keep the crown.
“Surely, there are different mindsets going into playing both the matches. As many people have said, defending a title is more difficult that actually winning it. There’s a lot of expectation, pressure and questions like ‘what if you lose’ but I guess at the end of the day you still need to do the basic things—go out there and play good chess,” Gukesh said on the eve of Norway Chess on Sunday.
The task can feel even more onerous when a player’s form deserts him in the months leading up to the match. It’s a challenge five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand dealt with ahead of his match against Magnus Carlsen in 2013, the year he lost the title. It is a predicament Gukesh—he has dropped in ratings and results—is dealing with right now.
He was eliminated in the third round of last year’s World Cup that Sindarov went on to win, he finished ninth in the Tata Steel Masters in Wijk aan Zee this year and sixth in his last tournament, the GCT Super Rapid and Blitz in Warsaw. The Norway Chess test lies before him. Grandmasters and a couple of former world champions have been quick to stack the odds against the Indian. “I think it’s fair. My performance has been way below expectations.”
Also seated at the table in the Norwegian capital city were two five-time world champions—current women’s world champion, Ju Wenjun, and world No.1 and former world champion Carlsen. The Norwegian knows a thing or two about defending titles, choosing to walk away from it a couple of years ago.
Carlsen doesn’t believe that defending the world title is necessarily harder than winning it the first time. “If you’re going to try and win the World Championship, then you have to go through all the qualifiers. If you’re a reigning champion, you just have to win one match. I understand, like, if it’s about the match itself, then it might be easier, but that also honestly depends on your opponent,” Carlsen weighed in.
“There were a lot of things that I didn’t like about it, but generally having so much of my identity in other people’s eyes and, to some extent, myself as well being connected, to one thing that I didn’t even particularly like, so yeah, I guess that is a personal problem.”
Ju Wenjun will be defending the women’s world title for the fifth time—this time against Indian Grandmaster R Vaishali. “It’s a long period of time, and there are pressures and expectations. So, for me, it’s hard to maintain the same performance or to maintain a high level of interest.”
Finding things to love about the process can help kindle the hunger. For Gukesh, it comes from preparation. “I just love the process—preparing against this one specific opponent for months…Everyone kind of underestimates the spotlight and expectations that come with the title. I’ve sometimes struggled with it…But also the last one-and-a-half years have helped me build character, become a better person and grow through the challenge.”
