As the fog of war envelops the board in Game 5 and pieces start losing their lives, D Gukesh leans back and closes his eyes. His opponent, the 17th world champion of the world, sneaks a couple of glances at the teenager before quickly casting them downwards at the board.
On the FIDE YouTube commentary, the experts once again explain to fans that Gukesh is not catching a quick shut-eye in the middle of the game. He’s just meditating, like a lot of Indian players do during chess games.
The trend started with Vidit Gujrathi, whose pre-match ritual begins with him bowing his head in front of the board almost like he’s praying to the little wooden idols.
But Gukesh has taken it a step further at the world championship, crossing his arms across the chest, sitting ram-rod straight and going into a zen-like meditation.
At the press conference after Game 5, he is asked what he’s thinking during these phases.
“I close my eyes quite often during games. Sometimes, it is just that it’s easier to calculate with your eyes closed. So mostly just thinking about the position,” says Gukesh before smiling and adding: “But maybe at some point (during the game), I am also like… I’m in a room where there’s nothing else to see. So I close my eyes.”
Odd idols
At some point during the press conference, both players are asked which athletes away from chess they admire the most.
Gukesh says that when he was younger, he used to admire MS Dhoni a lot. “Now it’s Novak Djokovic,” he says.
It’s now Ding Liren’s turn to answer. He starts off philosophically. “It’s hard to say the word ‘admire’,” he says earnestly.
“Earlier, I used to watch the NBA a lot. So I used to admire Lamar Odom. And now I like Federico Chiesa. They’re not that famous,” he adds.
This brought a hearty chuckle from American grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura, who makes YouTube recaps of all games, which now extend to critiquing post-game press conferences as well.
“Did he really just say Lamar Odom! I follow basketball, but out of all the people you could be a fan of, Lamar Odom is not the…” says Nakamura before being seized by a bout of laughter that prevents him from completing his sentence. “You could have said Yao Ming, Kobe Bryant… any number of people. But Lamar Odom?” he says before another chuckle takes over.
For the record, Odom spent 13 seasons in the NBA, the last of which came in 2013. But true worldwide fame for Odom came after he married Khloe Kardashian and the duo had a reality show called Khloe & Lamar.
Rapport chilling
Ding’s trustworthy second Richard Rapport has been using his time behind the scenes — rather than being front and centre on the stage as an active player — to dress down in style. Shunning the traditional uniform of grandmasters — sharp suits and formal shoes — Rapport has been turning up at the playing arena in shorts.
It’s caught the attention of the internet and other grandmasters too.
Wait, Richie has 14 different shorts?🩳 What a boss. https://t.co/PwvTpE7P52
— Anish Giri (@anishgiri) November 30, 2024
“Richie (Richard Rapport) has 14 different shorts? What a boss,” tweeted Anish Giri.
There’s now also an X account called RapportShorts to honour the Hungarian grandmaster’s sartorial choices.
Blanking out the world
Gukesh is also asked at the press conference if he has congratulated compatriot Nihal Sarin or spoken to him after his win at the Presidents Cup in Uzbekistan.
Like any player at the biggest match of his career, Gukesh confesses that he wasn’t aware that Nihal had won.
“During the tournament, I generally don’t talk to many people outside my team,” shrugs Gukesh.
