With these performances, Gukesh has earned the tag of being a “Big Match Player”. Let us look at how he handled a pressure situation as Black against his compatriot R. Praggnanandhaa in the second round of the Candidates tournament 2024:
(Diagram 1): Position after white played 15.e6 |
In the opening phase of this game, Pragg managed to catch Gukesh in his preparation, but Gukesh’s replies were logical and positionally sound so not much damage has been done to Black’s position – yet. White has bravely sacrificed 2 central pawns to send Black’s pieces on the back foot and create attacking chances in the centre. He may push his h pawn ahead by 2 squares to create attacking chances on the Kingside with h4, Ng5, Qh5 etc.
Exactly at this moment, White sacrifices a 3rd pawn on e6! If Black accepts the pawn, White may reply Nd4 so that for e5, white plays Ne6 – a Fork! This game followed the same time control of the upcoming world championship match. By now, Pragg had used up only 10 minutes of his time, while Gukesh had already used up 50 minutes! With a time difference of 40 minutes, Gukesh took a further 17 minutes here to reply. Such a huge time deficit tends to pressurise the player and nervousness begins to set in. This can lead to mistakes or hasty decisions.
Here onwards the game takes an unusual turn that gives us an insight into Gukesh’s approach.
15…f5!
Even though this is not the ‘strongest reply’ as per the computer, it is a sensible idea for humans. Black decides to play solid. Soon his Knight on e8 will come out of passivity to f6, supporting the pawn on d5. Further, in the next moves, we see he accepts a passive position temporarily, making defensive moves to stop White’s plans. Gukesh recognises that Black’s position is dangerous, and shows patience. He does not get intimidated or overwhelmed by emotions by the board position or the time deficit. His logic in the current position – if he defends, he is simply 2 pawns up and will likely win!
16.Ne5 Nf6 17.Qc2 c6 18.Qxf5 Qe8 19.Nf7 A mighty Knight! Bc8 20.Rfe1 Nb7 21.Bg5 Ra7! A brilliant move that perhaps was the turning point of this game!
(Diagram 2) Position after 21…Ra7! |
Black’s position ‘looks’ very difficult. Most of his pieces are on the 1st or 2nd ranks. Moreover the pawn on e6 and Knight on f7 look like beasts! How do you get rid of them?
With 21…Ra7 Gukesh removes the Rook from the a8-h1 diagonal. Any time there is a piece sacrifice on d5 from White, the Rook on a8 was being attacked, for example after 21..Nd6 22. Qe5 Nf7 23. ef Rf7 24. Bf6 gf 25. Qc7 a sacrifice on d5 looms.
The game continued:
22.Bxf6 Bxf6 23.Bxd5 cxd5 24.Nxd5 Be7 Now we see the deep idea behind 21…Ra7. Had the Rook been on a8 in this position, White would have the fork Nc7!
25.Qg4 By now White was also low on time and both the players were heading towards time pressure. White goes wrong here, it was important to start with Nh6 check, sacrificing a second piece! The line continues 25…gh 26. Qg4 check Bg5 27. Qd4! attacking the a7 rook and threatening e7 followed by Nc7! If Black plays 25…Kh8 instead then white returns with 26. Nf7 check and it will be a draw.
25…Nd8 Exchanging White’s most annoying piece. Now 26. Nh6 would be met with 26…Kh8, where the return check of 27. Nf7 is not effective due the f7 square being controlled by the d8 Knight.
26.Nxd8 Bxd8 Many of Black’s problems are solved now 27.Qd4 Rb7 28.Re4 Bf6 29.Qe3 Be7 The Bishop has proved to be a very strong defender from e7 in this game. 30.h4 Qc6 31.h5 Bc5 32.Qg5 Bxe6 33.h6 Rxf2
Black has defended against White’s threats, and is simply a piece up now, with a weak King for White instead. White resigned. Black wins.
0–1
Such a complex game can be difficult to comprehend without decoding Gukesh’s intentions behind his decisions. Black’s resilience, patience, ability to look deeply at the position and solve his problems through pure calculation without getting intimidated is all trademark Gukesh. These, and many more qualities, will be in full display over the next 20 days in his quest to become World Champion!
