Chess Olympiad: Ruthless Gukesh leads from the front

Bengaluru: Two years ago, a 16-year-old Gukesh — focussed, fearless and unflappable — had an extraordinary moment at the Olympiad. In some trouble out of the opening against Fabiano Caruana, he stayed calm, made good of the counterplay he was offered and slowly turned the screws. That win took him to eight wins from as many rounds and turned him into the tournament and chess’s breakout star.
The Indian, now 18, arrived in Budapest for the Olympiad last week – a World Championship challenger and one of the strongest top players. A lot has happened in these two years.
On Thursday, in his Round 8 game against Iran’s Parham Maghsoodloo, Gukesh was already better with Black by move 20. Parham – known for his audacious play, going all-in to seek initiative and being a touch reckless – was up a pawn but his pieces were loose and vulnerable while Black’s pieces were far more active.
The Iranian Super GM had put Magnus Carlsen in a spot of bother in an earlier round, before the world No 1 salvaged a draw. Gukesh, in imperious form, was in no such trouble. He paced with his hands tucked in his trouser pockets as Parham had a lot to think. The Iranian managed to navigate his way to a sharp position and was still in the game but his horror 29…Nc4 move ended it all in a swift stroke. It will haunt him for a couple of nights. A baffled Gukesh chopped the knight rightaway and pushed his rook to d1 to hunt down White’s King, giving Parham a stare-down. Almost to suggest – “what the heck were you thinking?”
On the other boards, Arjun Erigaisi and Vidit Gujrathi landed comfortable wins, Praggnanandhaa took a draw and India defeated Iran 3.5-0.5 in the Open section to head for a rare early dinner perhaps. A massive win like this, deep into the tournament, also acts as a statement of intent.
The team looks unstoppable at this point, cruising toward the top prize at the Olympiad. They’re unbeaten, yet to drop a single game and have been in dangerous form through the eight rounds. An 18-year-old Gukesh, who admires Novak Djokovic for stretching the limits of sporting ultimacy, has been leading from the front at the top board. His annihilation of his opponents so far has been clinical and ruthless.
Last year around this time, Gukesh could barely get any sleep.
He was ridden with self-doubt after it seemed like he would not make it in time to qualify for the Candidates. His parents were worried about how deeply he was affected by it. He put all of it behind him and went from almost not qualifying to winning the Candidates. His play lately has been fearsome. Wei Yi, who suffered its brunt in Round 7 on Wednesday would agree.
The Chinese GM watched in disbelief as a tireless Gukesh battled for six hours as the tables around them cleared out in the playing hall. Gukesh weaponised his pair of knights and a passed pawn on the f-file to craft an endgame masterpiece from a position that engines evaluated as equal.
Aside from his immaculate calculations, what has been striking is Gukesh’s strategic prowess and his understanding of the intricacies of positions. Even under pressure, he’s able to keep his emotions under the lid, and make calm, accurate moves. He did it at the Candidates in April this year and many times over on Wednesday with seconds on the clock.
“His style has become more or less like that of Karpov at his peak, it’s difficult to judge the depth of the moves played by him. The thing about Gukesh is he doesn’t depend on tactics alone. His technique has improved a lot, although it has always been exemplary,” says Grandmaster Pravin Thipsay. “At the Chennai Olympiad I sat in on some of the camp sessions, I noticed Gukesh was more accurate than the others but he was never the first to reply (when a problem was posed). He was always the guy who was calm and in control.”
Round 8 results:
Open (India-Iran)
Parham Maghsoodloo lost to D Gukesh
R Praggnanandhaa drew Amin M Tabatabaei
Bardiya Daneshvar lost to Arjun Erigaisi
Vidit Gujrathi beat Pouya Idani