Gukesh’s sub-par FIDE Grand Swiss campaign not a cause for concern, says Indian GM: ‘Part of his growth process’

Reigning Classical world champion D Gukesh didn’t have a great time in the FIDE Grand Swiss that took place in Uzbekistan’s Samarkand earlier this month. While he didn’t need to participate in the tournament, in which the top two players earn a spot in next year’s Candidates, Gukesh went ahead anyway as he wanted to test his skills in the world’s toughest Swiss-style event.

And while Gukesh was off to a promising start with two wins in the first three rounds. The 19-year-old’s campaign, however, was derailed by a hat-trick of defeats, including against 16-year-old American Grandmaster Abhimanyu Mishra who became the youngest player to defeat a world champion in a Classical game.

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Gukesh eventually managed to save face with consecutive draws, including against fellow Indian GM Divya Deshmukh, and won his last two games to finish with 6 points out of a possible 11 – the same as Indian No 1 R Praggnanandhaa. The hat-trick of defeats, however, have led to some questioning his status as world champion, and whether he will be able to successfully defend his title next year.

‘I’m sure he’ll take it in his stride’

Indian GM Srinath Narayanan, who had coached Gukesh, ‘Pragg’ and the rest of the Indian ‘Open’ team in their historic Chess Olympiad campaign last year, thinks otherwise. Srinath believes that Gukesh is still learning as a player despite carrying the tag of the ‘youngest world champion’, and that the defeats in Samarkand will only help him grow.

“Gukesh’s performance doesn’t necessarily need to be seen through the lens of him being a world champion, although of course that pressure is always there on him, whether we like it or not,” Srinath told The Times of India.

“Having said that, we shouldn’t forget that he is a growing chess player and he’s not even 20 yet. He’s still in his teens, and this tournament is part of his growth process,” he added.

Srinath goes on to add that Gukesh would not have raised as many eyebrows had he not been the world champion.

“It was not quite the dominating performance you would expect from his level, but also not something overly concerning. It’s just how the chess scene is right now. There are quite a few strong players who belong in the top-10, and I don’t think this was such a major anomaly.

“If Gukesh wasn’t the world champion, if he were just a 2750 or 2770-rated player, people wouldn’t raise so many eyebrows over this performance. I’m sure he’ll take it in his stride, keep improving as a player, and keep getting stronger,” added Srinath, who had been awarded the title of Grandmaster in 2017.

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Gukesh has had a mixed run since he became the world champion with a victory over Ding Liren in Singapore last December. While he finished runner-up at Tata Steel Chess and third in Norway Chess – where he defeated Magnus Carlsen for the first time in his career – Gukesh has barely made a dent in the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour.

He also had a forgettable trip to the United States before FIDE Grand Swiss, struggling in the Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz as well as the Sinquefield Cup.