Top-grade grooming to play chess with great mental and physical strength and maturity mixed with fighting spiritequipped with this ammunition, D Gukesh created a cerebral firepower on the 64-square board. In the process, he did something incredible. Gukeshs achievement is unbelievable considering his age (just 17) and lack of relative experience in playing elite round-robin tournaments. Having his own style, hunger, calculating ability and tactics, Gukesh had the credentials. But even the chess pundits were not ready for a script of him getting the big reward. It took India more than 30 years to unearth the second man for the World Championship Candidates cycle (Anand was the first in 1991). Anand needed four years to graduate from Candidate to Challenger. Gukesh has done it in his debut attempt and within four months. Anands role in this journey is crucial. Westbridge Anand Chess Academy (WACA) took Gukesh under its wings at the right time and Anands former second, GM Grzegorz Gajewski of Poland (age 38), travels with him. Yes, India organised a last-minute Fide circuit tournament in Chennai last year to help Gukesh qualify for the Candidates he had failed to make the cut from other paths. Even China had organised tournaments for Ding Liren so that he got to play enough games to make the cut in the last Candidates cycle. Then, Frances Alireza Firouzja played some "arranged" games to increase his rating to make the cut this time.

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Fire & ice: India chess star Gukesh oozes class beyond his years - The Times of India