‘I think the world championship matches are decided not purely by chess but by who has the better character and who has the better willpower. And I think those qualities, I did show quite well’
IMAGE: D Gukesh conceded that he would have liked to compete at a better level. Photograph: Kind courtesy Kind Courtesy Chin An/FIDE
New chess world champion D Gukesh is hardly perturbed by the criticism over the standard of his match against China’s Ding Liren, saying big matches are not decided purely by how well a game is played but also by willpower and character, which he possesses in ample measure.
Gukesh, 18, trumped the Chinese in the 14-game contest, winning 7.5-6.5 to become the youngest world champion in the history of the sport.
Former world champions Magnus Carlsen and Vladimir Kramnik were not impressed with the quality of games on display in the World Championship that concluded on Thursday.
Carlsen said the match looked like a second round or third round match of an open tournament while Kramnik called it the “end of chess as we know it.”
Asked if he was hurt by Carlsen’s comments, Gukesh told BBC World, “Not really”.
“I get that maybe in some of the games, the quality was not high but I think the world championship matches are decided not purely by chess but by who has the better character and who has the better willpower. And I think those qualities, I did show quite well.”
Gukesh, though, conceded that he would have liked to compete at a better level.
“And the pure chess part, it was not at a very high level as I would have liked it to be because it’s a new experience for me. So the workload was different, the pressure was different.”
“It’s understandable that I was a bit off but I managed to strike at the critical moments, which I am happy about,” said Gukesh.
Liren committed a basic mistake to surrender his crown, something that invited criticism.
FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich, though, said mistakes by players make the sport exciting.
Legendary Indian Viswanathan Anand also advised Gukesh to not think about the criticism.
“I feel very happy. I was literally watching history being made yesterday. It (criticism) comes with every match. To be honest, I think it just comes with the territory. You ignore it and that’s all,” said Anand.
