アプトンのガイド: ドーニとグケシュの世界チェス選手権優勝との関係を知る

After clinching the World Chess Championship title by defeating China’s Ding Liren, Indian grandmaster Gukesh Dommaraju revealed that former Indian cricket captain MS Dhoni was his childhood idol. Interestingly, there’s another cricket-related connection to the 18-year-old’s historic win in Singapore. Competing in a major tournament at such a young age can be mentally challenging. Even established players like Magnus Carlsen have experienced nervousness during world championships. Recognising the importance of mental preparation, Gukesh sought the help of Paddy Upton, a renowned mental conditioning coach.

Upton’s role in Gukesh’s success

Paddy Upton, who previously worked with the Indian cricket team during their 2011 World Cup victory under Dhoni’s leadership, played a crucial role in Gukesh’s preparation. Upton recently helped the Indian men’s hockey team secure a bronze medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Despite facing two big losses during the championship, Gukesh managed to bounce back and ultimately claim the title. His ability to recover from these setbacks was a testament to his mental strength.

Upton’s perspective on Gukesh’s preparation

“If you want to do well in an exam or test, you need to study the whole book exceptionally well. Then you can go into that exam with confidence. You don’t go in with hope. And in terms of studying the whole book for a World Chess Championship title, Gukesh has studied the whole book. In every minor bit of detail, down to how he manages his sleep, how he manages his downtime, to how he manages himself moment to moment within a game. We’re seeing an exceptionally well-prepared professional.” said upton.

Comprehensive mental conditioning

Upton and Gukesh spent considerable time discussing various aspects of mental preparation, including time management, sleep, diet, and exercise. This thorough approach was evident in Gukesh’s calm demeanour during matches, often seen meditating with closed eyes between moves. “We’ve discussed in minute detail about both cases: when he’s making his decisions about the moves to make and at the same time, how he’s managing himself and his mind while his opponent is busy planning his move.”

“Other aspects of his strategy we’ve discussed is how to manage himself when he’s ahead in the game; how to manage himself when he might be behind in the game or under pressure within a game. We’ve discussed how he would manage himself if he’s ahead in the tournament, like one game up; if he’s behind, if he’s got a 6-6 position. So not only just within a game, but within the championship as a whole, it’s very clear strategies of how to manage himself when behind, when level and when ahead.” he conluded.