 "D Gukesh is not putting too much pressure on himself ahead of the World Championship match against Ding Liren. Image: X / @FIDE_chess")
D Gukesh believes that Ding Liren, his opponent for the 2024 World Chess Championship later this year, will come into the contest “with the right spirit” and expects the Chinese player to give it his best. Amid Ding Liren’s poor recent form and his battle with mental health issues, Gukesh has been tipped as favourite by many, including American grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura .
The 18-year-old, however, is not thinking too much about the contest and said that his main focus was on playing with full energy.
The 2024 World Championship will be played in Singapore between 25 November and 13 December. Ding Liren is the defending champion of the World Championships, whereas Gukesh is the Challenger, having won the Candidates tournament earlier this year.
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‘He will be coming into the match with right spirit’
“I don’t really buy into these things that people say about the match. I’m sure he (Ding) will be coming into the match with the right spirit and he’ll be trying his best. My approach is to treat every game with the utmost respect and energy and give it my best,” the 18-year-old Indian Grandmaster was quoted as saying by the Times of India.
The Chennai-born youngster will enter the match on the back of a successful Olympiad campaign in Hungary, where the India Open and the Women’s teams won gold.
Impact Shorts
More Shorts“I’m glad that people say that I am expected to win, and in general, I’m happy with my form. But it doesn’t really add any pressure. I think it’s just the pressure of playing in the World Championship. But there is no additional pressure by what people are saying. I just want to play a good game in every round and see what happens,” he said.
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Olympiad win a ‘confidence-booster’
Gukesh believes India’s Olympiad win will boost his confidence in going to the World Championship match against Ding Liren. “It was a very special performance for me personally. And I’m very glad with how I played and how I handled different situations in the Olympiad. It’s surely a confidence booster for the World Championship," he stated.
Liren had been rested when China faced India at the Olympiad but Gukesh was ready for whatever it was. “The day before the match, we thought very likely he’ll play. But there’s a chance that he might not because he lost the previous round. So I was ready for both scenarios. It was not a huge surprise and it doesn’t make a huge difference.
“It’s tough for anyone to play after a loss, and it’s very understandable that he didn’t want to play, and we already played in the Sinquefield Cup. So we got a bit of a teaser before the match. So yeah, there’s no regrets there," he added.