D Gukesh showcased his grit and determination on Wednesday, as he finished his Rapid section campaign in fourth position at St. Louis. In the final three rounds, he lost to Leinier Dominguez, and then beat Wesley So and leader Fabiano Caruana.
Since becoming World Champion in December last year, Gukesh has been facing constant pressure, and has also fallen victim to the likes of Magnus Carlsen.
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D Gukesh on his opponents
Speaking after his win, Gukesh said, “I kind of sense that people are more motivated to play against me (after he became world champion).”
“But it’s none of my business, I just play my game. Maybe the first couple of tournaments, I felt this pressure of having to prove something, but then it got better. It has already been eight to nine months, and I played a few tournaments. I think I just got settled into this new state.”
Now Gukesh will be in action in the Blitz section, where he didn’t fare well in Zagreb. He said, “I mean, it will be a great challenge because Zagreb didn’t go well. It will be a challenge to prove myself and just try to do my best. You have to be well rested because of nine rounds of Blitz, but also some practice to get into Blitz rhythm. No rapid.”
{{/usCountry}}Now Gukesh will be in action in the Blitz section, where he didn’t fare well in Zagreb. He said, “I mean, it will be a great challenge because Zagreb didn’t go well. It will be a challenge to prove myself and just try to do my best. You have to be well rested because of nine rounds of Blitz, but also some practice to get into Blitz rhythm. No rapid.”
{{/usCountry}}Gukesh finished the rapid section with 10 points, trailing Caruana (14), Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (11) and Levon Aronian (13). Dominguez, So, and Uzbekistan’s Nodirbek Abdusattorov have nine points and share the fifth position. They are two points ahead of Vietnam’s Liem Le Quang. American GM Sam Shankland is ninth with five points, and Grigoriy Oparin is last with three.
This was also Gukesh’s fourth win in a row vs Caruana, which will also see the American feel some pressure. Recently, Caruana had also publicly mocked Indian GMs.