Results not catchy but game improved since '22 Olympiad'

Badminton players, you could find D Gukesh the stands at the Asian Games. That is after the Indian Grandmaster fulfills engagements in the sport which returns to the multi-disciplinary competition after 2010

- Dhiman Sarkar

“If I could meet any player and watch some games, it would be good,” said Gukesh, the world No. 8 and India’s highest-ranked chess player, here on Thursday.

That was the only time he sounded like a fan. For the rest of the interaction after an ordinary run at the Tata Steel rapid competition which Maxim Vachier-Lagrave won with a round to spare, Gukesh, 17, came across as a young man comfortable with having dethroned Viswanathan Anand, something no Indian has in three decades and more. “I have been used to handling expectations for some time,” he said.

He knows the crown may not stay that long with him given the crop of young Indian GMs that has emerged. “There is a lot of competition for the India No. 1 spot and I am happy about that.” That said, he would like to hold on to it for as long as he can, said Gukesh breaking into a smile.