 "D Gukesh looks forward to 'new ways to prepare' ahead of returning to action in Tata Steel Chess")
Dommaraju Gukesh has had a nice little break since defeating Chinese Grandmaster Ding Liren to be crowned the youngest world champion in chess history , and only the second India after Viswanathan Anand. Nearly a month has passed since his triumph in the world chess championship in Singapore, during which he’s received a heroic welcome back home in Chennai and has met Prime Minister Narendra Modi , Tamil superstar Rajinikanth and has even been confirmed to receive the prestigious Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award .
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It’s only a matter of time before the 18-year-old Indian Grandmaster turns his attention towards the Tata Steel Chess in Wijk aan Zee in Netherlands, where he will be competing in his first tournament as a world champion. He will also be crossing paths with Arjun Erigaisi, R Praggnanandhaa and Vidit Gujrathi – who were his teammates at the 45th Chess Olympiad in September where India won gold on the ‘Open’ as well as ‘Women’ categories.
And Gukesh, for one, has already started thinking about “new goals” and “new ways to prepare” in 2025 – a year in which he expects a “very tough challenge”.
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“But now, I have started thinking about new goals, new tournaments and new ways to prepare. The objective and the approach will be the same, to give my best, to keep improving myself, and win as many tournaments as possible. So, I am looking forward to a fun year with a lot of learning, a lot of improvements and hopefully a lot of good results,” Gukesh was quoted as saying by PTI at a felicitation event in Bengaluru.
“2025 will offer a very tough challenge. A lot of new and interesting tournaments are coming up. The world championship was in the past. I’m very happy about it and all the awards and receptions. So, I am looking forward to a fun year with a lot of learning, a lot of improvements and hopefully a lot of good results,” he added.
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Gukesh added that while all the media attention after the historic triumph in Singapore was along expected lines and that he has been used to being in the limelight for quite some time now, he remains focused on improving himself and accepting failures as and when they come.
“I have been used to being in attention for a while. Obviously, after the world championship, it will be more. But the basic things I remember are to keep improving myself and accepting failures when they come. I think in general, I have high expectations of myself. So, I think my aim is to meet my own expectations rather than that of others,” Gukesh added.
The Tata Steel Chess, formerly known as Hoogovens Tournament which is among the oldest chess events in existence, gets underway on 17 January and will go on till 2 February.
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