The title of “multi-millionaire” does “mean a lot” to D Gukesh, the new world champion, but he plays the game for his unrestrained joy rather than for financial gain.
The title of “multi-millionaire” does “mean a lot” to D Gukesh, the new world champion, but he plays the game for the unadulterated joy that he has been able to maintain since a chess board was the “coolest toy” for him, not for financial gain. The 18-year-old Chennai native Gukesh will now collect Rs 11.45 crore as prize money from FIDE for defeating China’s Ding Liren in the championship match. In order to follow his son on the circuit, Gukesh’s father Rajnikanth quit his job as an ENT physician, and his mother Padmakumari, a microbiologist, became the family’s only provider.”It means a lot,” Gukesh responded when asked what being a multimillionaire meant to him. My family and I had to make some difficult choices when I started playing chess. My parents had experienced emotional and financial adversity. We are more at ease now, and parents don’t have to worry about those things,” Gukesh said in an interview with FIDE.
“Personally, money isn’t the reason I play chess,” he stated.
When he received his first chess board, he always tries to recall why he began playing the game.
“I still enjoy chess like a kid. It used to be the coolest toy,” the reticent world champion explained.His parents hold a special place in his heart. In addition to being Gukesh’s manager by handling all off-board matters and letting him focus on the game, his mother serves as his emotional and spiritual rock.
“She (mother) still says, I will be happy to know that you are a great chess player but I would be happier to hear that you are a greater person,” Gukesh stated.
As a chess student who is still in his teens, Gukesh believes that the more he learns about the game, the more he will realize how little he actually knows.”Many mistakes are made by even the best players. There is still much to learn about chess despite the fact that technology has come a long way. I firmly believe that you become more aware of your ignorance the more you learn about a subject.
Every time I play chess, I feel like I’m learning something new. It is a process of boundless beauty. Both the journey and the destination are “important”
While the trip itself is crucial, Gukesh believes that knowing the end goal is even more crucial.”For instance, I would be upset if I lost a lovely game. And I’ll be pleased if I win even though I didn’t play a very good game. “I usually look at the outcome,” he remarked.
