When his quarter-final match against World No. 2 Fabiano Caruana of the Freestyle Grand Slam Chess Tour at Weissenhaus took place, World Chess Champion Gukesh Dommaraju was as calm as a cucumber. Though he had nearly a minute of his clock left and overwhelming pressure piling up against him, Gukesh was sporting a heart rate of between 60-80 beats per minute (BPM). Meanwhile, Caruana’s heart rate fluctuated between 100 and 124 BPM as an indication of his heightened stress level in the arduous game. The much-awaited game saw Gukesh being on the back foot as sustained pressure was mounted by Caruana. During a moment when there were 11 seconds left on his clock, Gukesh made a move that transformed the game, his heart rate staying stable at 74 BPM. Even towards the final moments of the game, when he had just two seconds remaining, his heart rate rose only to 78 BPM, demonstrating his immense mental fortitude. Conversely, Caruana saw his heart rate jump dramatically, hitting 124 BPM as he struggled with the anxiety-ridden endgame. …