Indian chess prodigy Grandmaster D Gukesh won the 2023 Junior Speed Chess Championship on Monday, beating compatriot GM Raunak Sadhwani in the final by seven points.
The world No 13 raked up a handsome $21,582 prize for his 17.5-10.5 win.
The win for the 17-year-old came after he had been trailing in the initial games of the final.
“At the start in time scrambles, I couldn’t get my mind to think fast, and it was trouble warming up,” he told Chess.com.
“Maybe I have to play a few games before the match starts and just go with the flow.
“I started with a loss, a draw, and then a loss, but I was still quite confident. It’s a long match. There are so many games to play. I knew that I would get my chances, and I just have to find my flow. Once I did, it was quite smooth.”
Incidentally, Gukesh revealed that speed chess is not known to be his forte.
“I’m more known to be a slow player, a classical player, but I’ve recently started working on faster time controls as well,” he was quoted by Chess24.com.
“My calculation (has been) my main strength for a few years. I really have a lot of confidence in my calculation. And in blitz it’s kind of hard to calculate a lot, so I have to trust my intuition more as well,” he added.
In October last year, Gukesh, then 16, became the youngest player
to beat the then world champion Magnus Carlsen, at the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour.
