The fearless approach with deep preparation of D Gukesh came out of syllabus for his well-versed opponents in the Candidates Chess tournament in Toronto. The only defeat that Gukesh suffered in the tournament came in the seventh round against French No. 1 Alireza Firouzja and the painful loss pumped the 17-year-old to give his best for the rest of the tourney. Gukesh took a sweet revenge of his defeat to Firouzja in the penultimate round and jumped to sole lead for the first time in the tournament and never looked back. At the press conference, when Gukesh was asked about the moment when he realized he might end up becoming the Candidates winner, he said, "If I had to pinpoint a moment where I really felt this could be my moment, it was probably after the seventh game, after I lost to Firouzja. Even though I just had a painful loss, I was feeling at my absolute best on the rest day. Maybe this loss gave me so much motivation and fired me up." He added, "After the loss I really felt that if I continue doing the right thing, and I am in the right mental state then I can really go for the triumph." He is just a step away from fulfilling his childhood dream of becoming the youngest world champion. Gukesh said, "I never think about the youngest or the first. My aim is to make it big at the world championship. The next goal and big thing is obviously the world title. I will give my absolute best but first I will try to relax. It has been stressful for the last three weeks." "After this much-needed break, I will think about the world championship and how I will plan to take things forward with my team. I will try to do the right things and be in the ideal shape required to play chess," he added.

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Felt I could win the Candidates chess tournament after seventh round loss: Gukesh - The Times of India