And five years later, he is one step away from his ambition.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Winning the recent Candidates Tournament held in Toronto, ahead of several higher rated players, Gukesh will be the challenger for the world title held by the reigning champion from China GM Ding Liren.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cEven as an eleven year old kid, Gukesh used to be serious while attending the chess coaching classes. While other kids used to demand the answers for chess problems, Gukesh used to ask me not to disclose the solution till he works it out,\u201d GM Vishnu Prasanna told IANS.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
After the class, the serious Gukesh will turn playful and start joking with other kids. But during the coaching sessions, Gukesh will be very serious and focused, Prasanna said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The 34-year old Prasanna began coaching Gukesh in 2017 when he had an ELO rating of about 2,300.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cFrom the start, Gukesh would discuss how to become a world champion. We would discuss various board situations through different games,\u201d Prasanna said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
According to him, children at about that age \u2013about 11 years- will be full of chess tricks and tactics.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cBut Gukesh was more of a positional player. It was an advantage. He was able to understand a position and accordingly strategise,\u201d Prasanna added.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The young Gukesh used to listen keenly to his coach Prasanna when he talked about complex positions.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Prasanna was very impressed with his young ward\u2019s ability to focus, maturity being a workaholic.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cInitially he was a bit upset for not becoming the youngest GM in the world and had said he had lost one night sleep. But that is in the past. Now compartmentalizes things. His recovery after losing a game is fast,\u201d Prasanna added.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
It should be noted that Prasanna has coached several notable players like GMs Leon Mendonca, International Master (IM) V.S.Rathnavel, Woman GM V.Varshini, WIM K.Priyanka and others.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cI have known Gukesh as a very young boy. I used to take Gukesh along with my daughter Rakshitta for overseas tournaments whenever his parents were not able to accompany him. Similarly, they used to do that when we were not able to accompany Rakshitta for overseas events,\" Woman International Master (WIM) Sai Meera Ravi, the wife of IM T.S.Ravi and mother of Woman GM Rakshitta Ravi, told IANS.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cEven as a 10-year-old boy, Gukesh was very disciplined and mature. He used to get up early and finish his morning ablutions first so that there is no fight for the bathroom,\" Sai Meera recalled.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cGukesh likes to create a complicated position on the chess board which would make his opponent work more calculations and commit mistakes,\u201d Rakshitta told IANS.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Agreeing with her Prasanna added: \u201cGukesh will not play sharp positions. He is good in unclear positions and will focus on his strengths.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
While Gukesh\u2019s ELO ratings began to go up, Prasanna felt that his ward needed additional and secret weapons other than chess.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cSo the focus was on meditation, yoga and breathing exercises. This gave him a lot of emotional stability,\u201d Prasanna said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Gukesh\u2019s emotional stability is what is being described as him having nerves of steel.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Perhaps that is why, Gukesh was not at all perturbed with the former world chess champion Magus Carlsen\u2019s comment ahead of the Candidates Tournament that he can\u2019t imagine the Indian teenager winning the event. It will be a bad event for the youngster.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
In the last few months, Gukesh\u2019s mindset change is very evident. The way he recovered from the seventh round loss in the Candidates Tournament was remarkable, Prasanna remarked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Prasanna was confident that Gukesh will win the Candidates Tournament as he was in good shape and well rested.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cPrior to the tournament we were talking about winning the Candidates,\u201d Prasanna said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Even though the Polish GM Grzegorz Gajewski became Gukesh\u2019s second, the latter continued to check out with Prasanna on certain aspects.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
As for the title clash against Liren and what Gukesh should do Prasanna said: \u201cHe has to work on some of the weaknesses in his games. He has to increase his range of positions. He has to widen his repertoire while playing with white pieces as a sizable number of his wins are with black pieces.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
(Venkatachari Jagannathan can be reached at v.jagannathan@ians.in)<\/p>\r\n\r\n", "image": "https:\/\/img.cricketnmore.com\/uploads\/2024\/04\/from-the-start-gukesh-wanted-to-become-youngest-world-chess-champion-coach-gm-vishnu-prasanna.jpg", "alt_img": "From the start Gukesh wanted to become youngest world chess champion: Coach GM Vishnu Prasanna", "alt_title": "PM Modi congratulates chess prodigy Gukesh, says his journey to top\n will inspire millions", "image1": null, "video": null, "seo_title": "From The Start Gukesh Wanted To Become Youngest World Chess Champion: Coach GM Vishnu Prasanna On Cricketnmore", "seo_desc": "From The Start Gukesh Wanted To Become Youngest World Chess Champion: Coach GM Vishnu Prasanna, Coach GM Vishnu Prasanna: It was in January 2019, the world\u2019s second youngest and India\u2019s youngest chess Grandmaster (GM) D..", "seo_keywords": "Coach GM Vishnu Prasanna, Candidates Tournament, China GM Ding Liren, GM Vishnu Prasanna, But Gukesh, GMs Leon Mendonca, International Master, Woman GM, Woman International Master, Sai Meera Ravi, Woman GM Rakshitta Ravi, Sai Meera, While Gukesh, Magus", "tag": "", "tagging": "Coach GM Vishnu Prasanna, Candidates Tournament, China GM Ding Liren, GM Vishnu Prasanna, But Gukesh, GMs Leon Mendonca, International Master, Woman GM, Woman International Master, Sai Meera Ravi, Woman GM Rakshitta Ravi, Sai Meera, While Gukesh", "status": "1", "img_rpt": "0", "google": "1", "standout": "0", "edapps": "0", "pulse": "0", "no_index": "0", "feed": "0", "fixture": null, "slug": "from-the-start-gukesh-wanted-to-become-youngest-world-chess-champion-coach-gm-vishnu-prasanna", "user_id": "0", "read_count": "0", "ians_date": null, "ians_time": null, "server_time": null, "trash": "0", "view_count": "1121", "page_break": "0", "instant_articles": "1", "auto_link": "0", "created": "2024-04-27 15:36:04", "updated": "2024-04-27 15:36:04", "img_from": "Image Source: IANS", "img_source": null, "schedule_publish": null, "news_keywords": "Coach GM Vishnu Prasanna, Candidates Tournament, China GM Ding Liren, GM Vishnu Prasanna, But Gukesh, GMs Leon Mendonca, International Master, Woman GM, Woman International Master, Sai Meera Ravi, Woman GM Rakshitta Ravi, Sai Meera, While Gukesh, Magus", "livescore_text": null, "livescore_link": null, "btn_text": null, "resend_feed": "1", "google_feed": "1", "read_more": "0", "posted_by": "23", "jio_date": "2024-04-27 15:36:04", "scheduled": "0", "news_now": "0", "breaking_news": "0", "google_date": null, "featured": "0", "sports_name": "others", "cnmid": "896338", "link": "https:\/\/www.cricketnmore.com\/sports-news\/from-the-start-gukesh-wanted-to-become-youngest-world-chess-champion-coach-gm-vishnu-prasanna-14814" }