D Gukesh came to Kolkata to attend the RevSportz’s Trailblazers 3.0 Conclave on Thursday. His session was at midday on Friday. Dinner was laid out for all the guests last evening, but the world chess champion was still shy enough to turn up, more comfortable to order his food via an app instead.
Once he was ushered into the dinner table, he became comfortable and enjoyed Rosogolla. But this is how Gukesh is. The crown hasn’t changed him. The 18-year-old remains humility personified.
At heart, he remains a teenager whose eyes light up while talking about MS Dhoni. “MS Dhoni was my idol even before Viswanathan Anand. I had two near misses as regards meeting him. He would be in Chennai for the IPL and I really want to meet him,” Gukesh told RevSportz’s Editor-in-Chief Boria Majumdar in a session that was titled – Celebrating The World Champion.
Then, he bowed his head in reverence for Anand. “Vishy sir’s impact on Indian chess – this boom wouldn’t have happened without what he has achieved and also what he has been doing to groom the next generation,” said Gukesh.
A product of the WestBridge Anand Chess Academy, he said: “The WACA has helped a great deal to my transformation from a Grandmaster to an elite player.”
Life has changed for Gukesh after winning the world championship. How is he dealing with that? “I have to admit it’s challenging. But it’s a positive change. It’s a privilege to be in this position. I’m actually still learning to deal with this,” he said.
With so many talented players at the elite level, Gukesh said this could be India’s decade in chess.