"I am very excited about my first ever Asian Games" - Chess prodigy D Gukesh opens up ahead of maiden Asian Games appearance
D. Gukesh, the rising star of last year's Chess Olympiad in Chennai, is excited as he waits for the forthcoming Asian Games in Hangzhou later this month. Chess makes a return to the Asian Games after a 13-year hiatus.
During a recent media communication, Gukesh shared his enthusiasm for his first-ever Asian Games appearance. He talked about the event's prestige and said that he is also looking forward to seeing athletes from various other sports in action. Gukesh also revealed a particular passion for badminton, expressing a wish to attend badminton games if possible.
He said:
“I am very excited about my first ever Asian Games. It is a prestigious event and I look forward to watching athletes in other sports. I love badminton, and I would like to watch it if I could.”
D Gukesh believes in country's success in chess at Asian Games
D Gukesh, who recently broke into the world's top 10 rankings, has confidence in India's chances on the chessboard. However, he acknowledged the presence of challenging contestants from other countries and underscored the productive training camp held with chess pro, Boris Gelfand, describing it as a brilliant venture.
Despite its intensity, Gukesh highlighted that such hectic training is usually good for advancement. He said:
“But there are other strong teams. And we had a camp here with Boris Gelfand. It went off very well. It was very tiring, which is usually good. The camp was brilliant.”
Commenting on his performance at the Tata Steel Chess India tournament's rapid section, where he finished sixth, Gukesh praised Maxime Vachier-Lagrave as the standout player.
While D Gukesh didn't fare as well as he expected in the rapid section, he found pleasure in his success against R. Praggnanandhaa, another young prodigy from Chennai. He explained the game as highly engaging and shared his strategy, which ultimately turned out advantageous.
He said:
“It was a very interesting game and I wanted to win it. I chose a sharp opening. And the plan worked out well.”
Looking forward, D Gukesh is preparing for the stormy section of the tournament, starting on Friday. With his perseverance and devotion to the game, he is likely to aim for a better result in this segment of the competition.