D Gukesh, who created chess history by becoming the youngest-ever winner of the FIDE Candidates was in high spirits after his victory was confirmed. The 17-year-old Indian finished with a tally of 9 points after drawing Hikaru Nakamura in his final game and will now face Ding Liren in the FIDE World Championships later this year.
Here are excerpts from the press conference following his victory:
On his emotions after winning:
Right now, I'm just so relieved and so happy - I was following this crazy game [Caruana vs Nepomniachtchi] and I was completely emotional but now I'm feeling quite good.
Those 15 minutes [in the hotel, where Gukesh went after drawing Nakamura] were probably the most stressful of the entire tournament. I tried to take my mind off their game [Caruana vs Nepomniachtchi]. I was watching the commentary for a while but then I couldn't watch it. Me and Grzegorz Gajewski [his second] went for a walk. Once the result was done, my father came running over and said 'It's over'.
On when he thought he could win the tournament:
I wasn't hundred percent sure till the last game - even after the last game to be honest [laughs]. If I had to pinpoint a moment, where I thought this could be my moment, it was probably after the seventh game - after I lost to Firouzja. I was obviously quite upset after, but during the rest day I already felt so good. Even though I had a painful loss, I was feeling at my absolute best. Maybe this loss gave me so much motivation.
Gajewski (Gukesh's second) on the similarities and differences between Gukesh and Viswanathan Anand (having also been Anand's second in the past):
This is a tricky question because Vishy may be listening to the press conference right now [laughs]. Obviously the similarity is the sharpness - which is outstanding for both of them. For the difference, I would say mainly the character - because Vishy is the brilliant one. He is the one who sees it first, whereas Gukesh is the calm one. This is a huge advantage in chess when you manage to stay cool during the entire game. I've noticed that people are so impressed by the way he [Gukesh] actually managed to keep his composure even during the most stressful moments.
On being the youngest-ever to win the Candidates:
Right now, I'm mostly just happy about winning the tournament - I don't really care about the 'youngest' and all these records but you know it's a nice thing to say.
Oh how he won the tournament:
I think a lot of factors go into it. The main thing is that I was in a right mindset during the event. From start to end I was in good spirits, I was fully motivated and I really wanted to win the event. When all these things come together it was helpful that I was sharp enough chess-wise and I managed to play some good chess. I would say mainly my mental attitude in this tournament was very good
On his support system and fans:
In Toronto, I came with my dad and Gajewski, but obviously the support system is huge - my family and my friends. Coming to my team, the journey is only hallway through - they know how grateful I am. I wont take their names, but each one of them played a huge, huge role and I'm so grateful for everything.
It was really nice to see all the people here supporting me and cheering for chess. I usually don't try to think about or interact with the outside world a lot during the tournament but surely whenever they cheered during the games and after the games it was really nice to see that. Yeah, their support means a lot to me.
On his strategy against Ding Liren at the World Championships:
I haven't had any time to be honest, but the main strategy will just be to play good moves and be in the right mindset. Obviously, I'm very excited to play the world championship and really looking forward to all the preparations and being there.