On losing spree, how Chess Olympiad could be the tonic world champ Gukesh needs

Round 5 of Chennai Grand Masters on Tuesday before Gukesh lost to Pranesh M. (Express Photo)

Srinath holds a unique vantage point in Indian chess. For the past two Olympiads, he has been the Indian men’s team’s captain, a position he will also hold at the upcoming edition at Samarkand in Uzbekistan in two months’ time. He has had a ringside view to the rise and plateau of India’s current golden generation.

He points out how the famed confidence that vaulted Gukesh to the world champion’s throne hindered him against Arjun Erigaisi on Monday, where he held a winning edge before allowing the game to equalise and then going on to lose.

“When you’re down in confidence, you’re constantly rechecking your moves and taking a lot longer to make decisions that you’d normally make much faster. This contributed to him (Gukesh) being low on time and as a consequence, when he needed that time (in the endgame) to make some critical decisions, he just didn’t have it,” said Srinath.

After his defeat to Pranesh on Tuesday, Gukesh slumped to world no.31 in live ratings that are updated in real time. He has lost 75 rating points in 19 months since becoming the 18th world champion in chess history.

Srinath believes that the upcoming Olympiad might be the event that helps Gukesh turn around his form. He was the Indian team’s captain at the 2023 Asian Games when Gukesh had a horrid tournament, losing rating points by heaps in Hangzhou. But he bounced back by winning the Chennai Grand Masters in its inaugural edition, clinching the Candidates, sweeping through the Olympiad in 2024 and then becoming world champion, all in the span of 14 months.

“Confidence is something which can change in a game or two. Everyone has gone through such slumps in their career. If that bad phase changes, Gukesh will suddenly be a completely different player,” Srinath said. “Gukesh’s confidence could have grown in yesterday’s game against Arjun if things had just gone a little more his way. I feel there is a chance of a turnaround in the Olympiad because unlike closed invitational tournaments which Gukesh has been playing where every player is rated about 2650 or 2700, the Olympiad is more like an open tournament, something which Gukesh hasn’t played in a long time. That’s where he built his initial successes.”

Different approach

Srinath, who is part of the organising committee of the Chennai Grand Masters, says he is currently in wait-and- watch mode. On Wednesday, when the tournament ends, he’ll start reaching out to the five members of his provisional Olympiad team — Gukesh, R Praggnanandhaa, Arjun, Nihal Sarin and Vidit Gujrathi — about preparation for the tournament.

The way the national camp before the Olympiad is held has also changed considerably over the years. In 2022, Srinath organised multiple two-week camps with the young squad over two months leading up to the Olympiad in Chennai. He said the camps were as intense as those for Candidates tournaments. But for 2024, there was just a Zoom call because the players were jet-setting to tournaments around the world.

“In 2022, we had some very intense training camps. All of us were working long hours on openings. That didn’t quite work because it felt like overtraining,” Srinath said. “But since the last Olympiad, the idea is to have a good time together. That’s all you need for a team like ours.”

For the 20-year-old who wears the burden of the world champion’s crown and does not seem to be having fun on the board, the Olympiad might just be the tonic he needs to rejuvenate his game.