“If you enjoy Chess, you play it better,” Coach Vishnu Prasanna reveals World Champion Gukesh’s winning mantra

Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], December 13 (ANI): Following D Gukesh’s historic FIDE World Championship title win, his coach Vishnu Prasanna said that world champion had been given only one advice by him and that was to enjoy his chess.

“I would say that enjoy chess and that’s what I always told Gukesh also. If you enjoy chess, you have the chance of playing it better and that should be the primary goal. A lot of things still have to work out for him to achieve what Vishwanathan Anand has done,” Prasanna said.

Gukesh made history on Thursday by becoming the youngest-ever champion in the history of the sport after defeating China’s Ding Liren in the final game of their FIDE World Championship tie.

The coach recalled the moment when Ding Liren played the A4 move at the start of the game and said that he thought the game would end in a draw.

“The moment Ding Liren played A4, I felt like this would be a long game. Until that moment I thought it would be a draw and we had to do the tiebreak. The moment Ding Liren tried to go on the defensive and simplify and make a draw, I thought Gukesh would play on for a long time. And still the most likely result is a draw, but I thought at least it would be a long game,” Vishnu Prasanna added.

Gukesh’s coach said it was remarkable that Gukesh had been able to beat Garry Kasparov’s record who won the World Championship at the age of 22.

“Even when I was growing up, these things are unheard of Kasparov winning at 22 itself was a spectacular thing. And nobody even thought this record could be beaten. I mean, you don’t really expect that to happen. But he has achieved something remarkable. And I think it will be very hard to break. And I mean, people have to,” Prasanna said.

In fact, Gukesh came in for special praise from Garry Kasparov after his phenomenal victory to clinch the World Championship.

“My congratulations to D Gukesh on his victory today. He has summited the highest peak of all: making his mother happy,” Garry Kasparov posted on X.

The championship, which saw the scores tied at 6.5-6.5 heading into the final game, culminated with Gukesh delivering a stellar performance to secure a historic 7.5-6.5 victory over Ding Liren, according to FIDE’s official website.

The official X handle of FIDE declared, “Gukesh D is the YOUNGEST WORLD CHAMPION in history!”

In April, Gukesh had already made headlines by winning the FIDE Candidates Chess Tournament 2024, becoming the youngest-ever challenger to Ding’s world title.

Overwhelmed with emotions after his victory, Gukesh termed it the “best moment of his life” during the post-match press conference.

Reflecting on his loss, Ding Liren remarked, “I was totally in shock when I realised I made a blunder. I will continue to play. I think I played my best tournament of the year. It could be better, but considering yesterday’s lucky survival, it is a fair result to lose in the end. I have no regrets.”

The thrilling finale capped an intense series, with Game 13 ending in a draw and setting the stage for the decisive final round. Ultimately, it was Gukesh’s unmatched composure and skill that earned him the title, further solidifying India’s dominance in the chess world.