D Gukesh reacts to Rs 11.45 crore prize money after becoming world champion: “There is no money…”

The “multi-millionaire” tag “means a lot” to new world champion De Gukesh but he plays the game not for the material gain but for the unbridled joy he has been able to sustain since the time he used the chess board. . Be his “best toy.” 18-year-old Gukesh from Chennai is now richer than the Rs 11.45 crore he will receive from FIDE as prize money for defeating China's Ding Liren in the final. Gukesh's father Rajinikanth gave up his career as an ENT surgeon to accompany his son on the circuit, while mother Padmakumari, a microbiologist, became the sole breadwinner of the family.

Asked what being a millionaire actually means to him, Gukesh said, “It means a lot. When I got into chess, we (as a family) had to take some tough decisions. My mother -The father went through financial and emotional difficulties. Now, we are more comfortable and the parents don't have to think about those things,” Gukesh told FIDE in an interview.

“Personally, the reason I play chess is not money,” he said.

He always tries to remember why he started playing the game when he got his first chess board.

“I'm still that kid who loves chess. It used to be the coolest toy,” the reticent world champion said.

For him, his parents are his world. Gukesh's father acts as his manager by taking care of all off-board activities and allowing him to focus on the game, while his mother is a pillar of emotional and spiritual strength.

“She (mother) still says, I would be happy to hear that you are a great chess player, but I would be happy to hear that you are a great person,” Gukesh said.

Still in his teens, Gukesh feels that as a student of the game, the more he learns about chess, the more aware he becomes of how little he knows.

“Even the greatest players make a lot of mistakes. Even though technology is so advanced, there is still a lot to learn about chess. I firmly believe that the more you learn something, the more You realize that you don't know that thing.

“Whenever I'm at the chess board, I feel like I'm learning something new. It's a process of infinite beauty.” Both the journey and the destination are “important”

The process of travel is very important but for Gukesh it is even more important to be clear about the destination.

He said, “For example, if I played a beautiful game and lost, I would be sad. And if I won despite not playing a good game, I would be happy. I pay attention to the result.”

The desire to win is greater than the fear of losing

The quality of the games in the final was found to be quite lackluster by experts, but Gukesh does not believe that his desire to win has been overshadowed by the fear of losing.

“My desire to win is stronger than the fear of losing,” he said, expressing a little surprise at how Liren easily agreed to a draw in the second game.

“I had a little more freedom to attack because he was defending so strongly. After I played very poorly in the first game, he went too easy on me in the second game, so I felt like he could push me a little bit. But it was a comfortable draw.” However, he is not too surprised that Liren chose the “safe route”.

“It wasn't a huge surprise. He was moving towards safer routes, maybe he should have taken more chances.”

dancing and ice cream

For a man who believes he has two left feet when it comes to dancing, his impromptu jig went viral after receiving the Chess Olympiad trophy, and now he fears his friends won't let him off that easily.

“Earlier, my friends used to dance and I used to sit in a corner. After winning the Olympiad, the excitement was high and there was this (dancing) moment. But the video went viral and now my friends say 'you danced' You have to join us there and now”, he smiled.

He thanked the Singapore chefs for providing him comfort food, “South Indian cuisine”, during the finals.

“I haven't eaten ice cream in a year. Maybe I'll have one.”