Over the last few months, fame has arrived like an uninvited house guest knocking on world champion Gukesh’s door. For a boy born and brought up in Chennai, these days, he occasionally needs to wear face masks to venture out of his house for fear of being recognised and mobbed. Or, the 18-year-old has to carry out a mental exercise in mapping out “safe places” that he can go out and still be himself. Such is the burden he bears as chess’ youngest world champion in history.
“In India, especially in Chennai, when I go out, it was like I was getting recognised more than before. I’ve learned to go out with a mask and stuff. I’ve learned to deal with it, it’s been a few months, so it’s all good now. It depends on the place. Like when I want to go to some place, and it’s crowded, I wear a mask,” Gukesh told Norway Chess in an interview on Saturday before clarifying: “I don’t get recognized too much in all the places. So yeah, I just have to know the safe places to go to.”
READ MORE: At Norway Chess, Gukesh to challenge Magnus Carlsen on home turf today
Asked to elaborate on this on Sunday during the Norway Chess press conference, Gukesh said that he had been experiencing this feeling of being recognised on the streets in Chennai after the 2024 Olympiad where he had won an individual gold on board 1 besides helping the Indian chess team to a team gold in the open section.
On Monday, the chess world will get the clash it has wanted for a while as Gukesh plays with black pieces against Carlsen at the Norway Chess tournament. ( Credit: Norway Chess)
“I first experienced it after the 2024 Olympiad. But after the world championship title, it got even more (amplified),” he said before adding: “I can still go out and stuff. So it’s not as bad as people might imagine. The first month (after becoming world champion) was difficult.”
READ MORE: Gukesh before Norway Chess: Proved whatever needed to be proved last year… now focus is on improving, not proving myself
The 2025 edition of the Norway Chess tournament starts off on Monday with a blockbuster clash between world no 1 Magnus Carlsen and world champion Gukesh with the Norwegian playing with white pieces.
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Gukesh admitted that the expectations from the world of him have been at “another level” since he became world champion. But he said he wasn’t really perturbed by such expectations. “Extra expectations or pressure came in with the world championship title. But expectations have always been there since a very young age, around 12 when I became a grandmaster. This is a new level. But I see it as a challenge to prove to myself that I can handle this. Even though the expectations are high, I can meet them if I keep working hard and doing my best.”
(The writer is in Stavanger at the invitation of Norway Chess)
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