Chapter 136: Fifth Round’s Opponent - Gukesh Dommaraju!
Pragg: Hey, I heard that you will play against Gukesh tomorrow.
Pragg: Let me remind you here that even if he is younger, he is also a better player than I am.
Pragg: I wouldn’t be sure to beat him even in my best state.
Pragg: Even Vishy Sir has once told that Gukesh is the one who has the most potential among us, the youngsters.
Pragg: Anyway, be careful.
Pragg: Don’t die too easily, and give us a good game to watch, okay?
Sheva felt the corner of his mouth twitching, not expecting that Praggnanandhaa would be a chatty person like this. Still, he received the message clearly, and somehow, what his new friend said also bothered the boy.
’So, he is Vishy Anand’s successor, huh?’ He muttered solemnly. ’Man, even Pragg himself said that Gukesh is better than him. Damn, tomorrow will be another difficult day for me...’
The man whom Pragg referred to as Vishy Sir was the Indian legend and one of the best players in chess history, Vishwanathan Anand. The man was a living legend who wreaked havoc in the early 1990s until late 2019, witnessing and even participating in almost every single historical chess event in the last two decades.
In his early career, the man managed to break the hegemony of USSR players who later became the Russian ones, fighting against a lot of legendary players like Vladimir Kramnik, Gary Kasparov, and Veselin Topalov.Then, when he had already established his name around 2010, the man also fought against the youngsters like Magnus Carlsen, Fabiano Caruana, and Hikaru Nakamura to establish his domination.
The man was a legend, not just for India, but also for the entire chess community. That was why his affirmation toward Gukesh’s potential really put Sheva on edge.
Well, it wasn’t just him who faced a problem. Both Claudia and Irene had also been quiet since they saw their own pairing, probably having a headache about their tomorrow’s opponents right now. In the end, they finally decided to gather together in Sheva’s room just like yesterday, researching about their opponents while also exchanging ideas whenever something caught their interest.
Honestly, this situation reminded Sheva of one group project that he had during his school time, when somehow, he was more than lucky to get all the diligent students in the class as his partners. Everyone had their own idea, yet the discussion flowed seamlessly as they were all willing to listen to each other without any ego. Even though it only happened once in his three years in high school, the memory still stuck inside his head, and this situation was pretty much the same.
’Okay, let’s focus on my own problem first...’ Sheva took a deep breath, putting all of his attention to the computer screen in front of him. ’Gukesh Dommaraju, huh? Let’s see what I can get from him...’
Since Gukesh himself was also one of the most prolific young players in the chess community, it wasn’t hard for him to get the boy’s last ten games. That was a very small number to be a sample, yet for one night’s research, Sheva was satisfied with what he got. However, as he learned more about the boy, his frown deepened, showing that he himself also didn’t expect the data that he compiled right now.
’Hmm... His playing style resembles Praggnanandhaa’s a little bit, but there are a couple of differences here...’ He frowned solemnly. ’While both are aggressive and prefer dynamic play, their approach is quite different. Pragg is more like a positional player, always patient in maneuvering his position to create weakness. As for Gukesh, he tends to be sharper, frequently seeking complications and trying to unsettle his opponent. Playing against him will definitely be a hell of a game.’ He thought.
As Sheva’s research deepened, though, he also noticed one thing that would give him a headache.
’Damn, what a resilient defender!’ He cursed inwardly. ’What the hell is this?! Out of ten games, he ended up being in a disadvantageous position about four times, yet none of them resulted in a defeat for him. He always managed to defend his position well, never giving up, even when he was down a whole piece and the computer itself gave him a bad evaluation. His ability to find the best move in the worst situation is definitely among the best in the world, making it a nightmare to be paired against him. Man, what a troublesome opponent!’
Well, honestly, he should’ve been expecting something like this when Sheva read about Gukesh’s attacking style. Hell, he even thought that this was something worth learning, as he himself was quite a tactical player like his opponent. More often than not, once his tactical approach failed, he would be at a disadvantage instantly, so it was important to have the ability to defend well like Gukesh.
Unfortunately, that was not something that could be learned in one night, so Sheva had to save this note on the back of his head and remember it again once the tournament was over.
"So, how is it?" Claudia suddenly asked, peeking at his work. "Finding anything useful?"
Yeah, after reading Pragg’s messages on Sheva’s phone that Gukesh was a better player than her idol, Claudia was somehow invested in his preparation too.Even though she knew that there were so many better players than Pragg in the chess community, the girl still believed that her idol was the best youngster in the world, so to hear Pragg himself acknowledging someone younger was better than him was a big hit for Claudia.
"Well, I can see why Pragg said that Gukesh is better than him..." Sheva said solemnly. "While in terms of attacking and tactical approach, they are quite similar, Gukesh’s defensive resilience is the biggest difference here. Gukesh’s ability to pull a miracle in a losing situation is insane. Not that I think I could get a winning position against him in the first place, but this at least gives me an idea of how dangerous the boy is."
Claudia nodded silently while also pondering over what Sheva had just said. However, she snapped her head instantly after realizing something. "What do you mean you don’t think you could get a winning position against him?"
"Well, it is exactly what I mean, you know?" Sheva shrugged helplessly. "Gukesh Dommaraju will be a tough nut to crack, and I don’t think I have the ability to do so."