Words of wisdom in ward's upswing

Super coach Ramesh speaks of how top players of this generation have learnt to cope with the territory

- SWAROOP SWAMINATHAN @Chennai

AROUND the time when D Gukesh was crowned as the world champion, RB Ramesh and R Praggnanadhaa had a very frank conversation. The interaction between teacher and student didn't focus on Gukesh's title but the spotlight was on the wider developments within Indian chess.

"There were things we discussed at the end of last year," Ramesh told select media during the fifth round of the Chennai Grand Masters on Monday. "Does it have a negative impact on you? Because Gukesh, rating wise, he went up. Pragg was 2740 in January. In December also he was 2740. He had had some ups and downs. 'So do others' performances have an impact on you?' These were some of the issues we discussed."