An 18-year-old who looks and behaves beyond his age, he turns up suited-booted for his games and sports a sacred white dot on his forehead. He doesn’t talk big and stays calm at the time of jubilation. When the year started, nobody had an inkling that this boy from Chennai would be the runaway sportsperson of the year for India.
Nobody ruled his or her sports in 2024 like D Gukesh did. In few other disciplines — possibly with the exception of French swimmer Leon Marchand, who won four Olympic gold medals in Paris — did an individual win every big prize on offer, including the biggest one. It was alchemy. Whatever he touched turned into gold. It will be hard to find parallels to India’s phenomenal run in chess this year and Gukesh was the fulcrum of the endeavour.
However, it was another side of this prodigious talent that drew attention in Singapore, where he became the youngest-ever chess champion last week. Steel on the board apart, Gukesh impressed a whole bunch of people with his humility at the moment of elation. Journalists from other countries, fans, volunteers, even the security personnel at the venue were talking about this.
That was an interesting twist to the script in general. The world is used to demonstrations of unadulterated celebrations in sports. A lot of times, the champions are youngsters, unless one is a Novak Djokovic. Or Virat Kohli in the Indian context. Almost as a rule and due to human instinct, their joyous expressions are self-celebratory. Not blowing one’s own trumpet maybe, but there is a thumping of the chest, or a flying kiss, for sure.
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Gukesh cut a different figure altogether. For someone his age and considering the enormity of the occasion for him, it seemed unnatural when he began his post-win press conference with a verbal thumbs-up for his opponent. His words seemed heartfelt and not scripted. To praise the vanquished and say that he was inspired by Ding’s fighting spirit at his biggest moment of joy, was maturity plus modesty and a lot of those things that constitute humility.
People believe that upbringing and respect for traditional values form a significant part of what Gukesh is. Listening to his father, Dr Rajinikanth, one gets the impression that parenting played a major role in the development of the world champion. They didn’t teach him chess, but inculcated in him some simple principles of life, which helped him become what he has.
That’s why we see a champion without bravado. Down to earth when he could have been ecstatic. He refrained from taking a dig at critics when he could have torn them apart. He seemed acutely aware of the situation, when he said that he is the world champion, but far from being the best player in the world. These are remarkable traits for someone, who is 18 and at his moment of joy.
Be it the Candidates win, the Chess Olympiad conquest and the World Championship, Gukesh remained level-headed and reminded the world in his distinct and subdued manner that outward aggression is not always a necessary ingredient in the quest for excellence. ‘Gentlemen Can Win’ is the underlying message in this extraordinary journey of a boy who champions India’s cause.