World Chess Championship: With Game 3 win, Gukesh shows again that his strongest weapon is his mental toughness

But Gukesh did not get truthful acold by getting rattled by defeats. Just look astatine the Candidates tourney successful Toronto this twelvemonth wherever the 17-year-old had chopped down an experienced tract to gain his changeable astatine the title. He had been winning the crippled against Alireza Firouzja, erstwhile helium got debased connected clip and yet lost. For a little second, his disguise of nonchalance slipped. But later, helium called that decision arsenic a infinitesimal that helium drew assurance from.

Mind guru Paddy Upton — who has worked with immoderate of the top Indian athletes crossed aggregate sports, beryllium it the Indian cricket squad legends similar Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid oregon Indian hockey stalwarts similar PR Sreejesh — gushed astir Gukesh’s intelligence toughness and large lucifer temperament.

“One happening astir Gukesh is that he’s 1 of those who brings retired his champion successful the truly large moments. Someone similar Virat Kohli successful the T20 World Cup earlier this year. Or Gautam Gambhir and Mahendra Singh Dhoni successful the 2011 World Cup,” Upton had told The Indian Express earlier the World Chess Championship.

Upton had gone connected to predict: “Most players are overwhelmed by the truly large occasion. But there’s lone a fewer who I would telephone big-match temperament players. Gukesh is idiosyncratic who has shown each the signs of being that. The bigger the match, the amended chess he’s astir apt to play. I deliberation this World Championship is going to bring the champion retired of him.”

Upton’s predictions are already starting to go reality. Gukesh remained unflappable aft the opening decision and the crippled 2 gully versus Ding Liren, wherever his hostile tried to outpouring surprises connected him knowing helium would beryllium nervous.

“We already knew what could happen. Losing is portion of the game. It was not a shock,” Gukesh had said aft the 2nd crippled wherever helium adjacent managed to interruption into a grin a fewer times. A time later, aft helium had a triumph connected the board, helium added: “The past 2 days I was blessed with my play, but contiguous was adjacent better. I consciousness bully astatine the committee and contiguous I conscionable managed to outplay my hostile with chess which is ever precise nice.”

Just successful lawsuit helium starts to get carried distant with the win, he’s reminded of the stinging disapproval by erstwhile satellite champion Magnus Carlsen who had said aft his crippled 1 defeat: “It’s hard to understate however atrocious this was from Gukesh. Not a azygous bully decision.”

Gukesh takes the stinging rebuke successful his stride and conscionable shrugs. “After immoderate point, each my moves were beauteous bad,” helium admitted. “But it was besides understandable. It’s my archetypal satellite championship. It’s a caller mounting for me. Even Magnus successful his archetypal satellite championship, helium was not astatine his champion astatine the start. It’s a precise mean reaction. I was good with that.”

It takes much than a decision oregon disapproval from a fable to rattle this 18-year-old.