The inside story: Sagar Shah interviews Gukesh

by Sagar Shah - 19/12/2024

Chess is booming in India and Sagar Shah, cofounder and driving force behind ChessBase India, has played a major role in this process. ChessBase India has also followed the career of Gukesh, the new world champion, from the very beginning. In an extensive, almost three-hour interview, Sagar Shah and Gukesh now talk about Gukesh's path to the World Championship, the 14 games of the competition and the choice of his seconds, among other things. Gukesh also reveals how and why Vincent Keymer, who is actually a rival of Gukesh, became part of the team in this revealing interview.

Nearly three-hour long candid interview

The complete inside story of Gukesh becoming the 18th World Champion by beating Ding Liren at the FIDE World Chess Championship 2024. How did Gukesh build his team? How did Gukesh spend his days in Singapore while playing the most important event of his life? Everything that you wanted to know about Gukesh's campaign is in this interview - the youngest undisputed World Champion in the history of the sport.

The inside story of Gukesh becoming the 18th World Champion | Video: ChessBase India

Time stamps

0:00 – Interview Begins

0:10 – 🎥 A video that truly aged well

2:00 – 🏆 The aftermath of becoming the 18th World Champion at just 18

2:00-4:00 – 🤔 Reflecting on the journey after achieving the title

4:10 – 🥇 Qualifying for the Candidates and the lead-up to the championship

5:15 – 🤝 Teamwork making the dream work

6:00 – ❤️ Reasons behind choosing team members (with touching and inspiring insights)

10:00 – 🙌 Vishy Sir OP

11:00 – 👨‍👦 Gukesh's dad shares thoughts on Gajevsky

11:40 – 🪂 A leap of faith: Bungee jumping with Gayu

12:30 – 🙏 A note of gratitude to Westbridge and WACA

13:00 – 🤗 The friend that is Gayu

15:10 – 🧠 Game 1 Analysis

15:30 – 😅 The nerves during the World Championship match

16:20 – 🔍 Gukesh on Ding's form

17:30 – 🪟 Inside the glass box

18:10 – 🥇 Sagar for GM (Grandmaster)

18:30 – 📘 Insights from The Barefoot Coach Paddy Upton

20:00 – 😰 A moment of intensity: "Literally shaking"

21:10 – 🇫🇷 A touch of French flair

21:30 – ♟️ Ding’s loyalty to his openings

24:00 – 🤔 The G4 idea

27:00 – 🎯 How Ding outplayed Gukesh in Game 1 and Gukesh’s mental preparation

28:45 – 💪 Gukesh regains his MoJo

31:05 – 🚪 A chance meeting with Vishy Sir in the lift after Game 1

32:00 – 🧩 Fun segment: Chess Champions Trivia

33:30 – 🇸🇬 Mention of the Singapore Chess Federation

34:10 – 🎥 A look at Game 2

36:30 – 🤝 Holding Ding to a draw in Game 2

37:07 – 🤭 Game 3: An amusing opening choice

40:00 – ⏱️ Ding’s deliberate approach to opening moves

41:30 – 🏅 Both Ding and Gukesh share an ambitious mindset

47:00 – 🏆 Ding proves his mettle as a champion

48:20 – ♟️ Game 4

49:45 – ♟️ Game 5

55:10 – 🧠 Game 6: A truly "mental" game

1:00:00 – 📅 Gukesh’s daily routine during the championship

1:01:50 – ♟️ Game 7: An “Almost Novelty” moment

1:09:00 – 🎯 Game 8 and the F6 opening

1:13:00 – 😃 Gukesh’s excitement peaks

1:19:00 – 🔄 Recaps by Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura

1:19:40 – 🌐 Living in a bubble during the championship

1:20:30 – 💻 Gukesh’s love for Google

1:21:00 – 🕵️‍♂️ “Google for Chess”

1:22:00 – 💰 “Bring me the money” moment

1:23:00 – 😌 Gukesh’s calm, eyes closed

1:25:00 – ♟️ Game 9: A Catalan battle

1:27:00 – 🛌 The second rest day: Time for reflection

1:29:00 – 😵 When Gukesh’s mind started playing tricks

1:32:00 – 🧺 A championship picnic

1:34:50 – 🎢 Gukesh tries a zipline and thinks of rollercoasters

1:36:00 – 🪂 The bungee jumping deal

1:38:19 – 🤔 Anand vs. Gelfand Trivia and Gukesh’s internal battle

1:40:00 – ♟️ Game 10

1:42:10 – 🔥 Game 11: A real fight!

1:54:00 – ♘ A brilliant knight move: Knight a1!

1:55:30 – 😯 Ding’s priceless expressions

1:57:20 – 🙌 Game 12: Ding shows his class, earning Gukesh’s respect

2:05:00 – 🤝 Heading into Game 13 with a level score

2:06:00 – 🗣️ Speaking with Paddy and meeting him post-victory

2:11:10 – ♟️ Game 13

2:12:40 – 🏆 Discussing great champions

2:18:00 – 🗨️ A chat with Vishnu Sir

2:22:20 – 🤔 Gukesh’s thoughts on tiebreaks

2:23:30 – 🚀 Pushing for a win in a drawn game

2:25:35 – ♟️ Game 14: The final showdown

2:38:50 – 🤩 The moment Gukesh realizes he’s winning

2:40:00 – 😭 Raw emotions unfold on the board

2:42:00 – 🏠 Emotions shared at the Habitat

2:43:00 – 👨‍👦 Heartfelt moments with dad and coach

2:44:00 – 🪂 Bungee jumping memories!

2:46:00 – 🍴 Gukesh’s spatula story

2:47:00 – 🎯 What’s next after achieving greatness at 18?

2:51:00 – 👑 Thoughts on Magnus Carlsen

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