D Gukesh’s road to chess glory: How Paddy Upton played with youngest world champion’s mind before Singapore event?

Paddy Upton created magic with whoever he has worked so far. Starting from guiding the Indian cricket lift the 2011 World Cup at home to India’s men’s hockey bronze in 2020 Olympics in Tokyo to preparing Gukesh Dommaraju en route to the 18-year-old’s triumphant World Chess Championship campaign, the South African has played a significant part in India’s sporting history.

The Indian Grandmaster scripted history on Thursday as he became the youngest world chess champion after beating title-holder Ding Liren of China in the 14th and last game of a roller-coaster showdown that went right down to the wire.

Gukesh is also the second Indian to win the world chess title after legendary Viswanathan Anand, who clinched it five times. The last time Anand won the world title was in 2013. Playing chess requires a lot of mental strength, calmness and composure.

At 18, Gukesh showed enough maturity to rise to the top of the world. A former first-class cricketer, Upton has little knowledge about chess but made he played right with Gukesh mind in the lead up to the Singapore event.

So how did Upton prepared Gukesh?

“I’ve been speaking to him for probably once a week for the last six months, just preparing him to manage his mind in a big event,” Upton said in an interview after Gukesh’s victory. “The idea was the less input I need to give during the 14 games, is a reflection of how well his preparation was,” he added.

The 56-year-old also revealed where Gukesh scored over his opponents and peers. “One of the biggest mistakes newcomers make at big events is thinking they need to do something special. The key is consistency – doing what you’ve been doing really well, one move at a time,” said Upton.

Gukesh’s association with Upton came mid-way into 2024 when the youngster’s team reached out to experienced mental conditioning coach after the Indian qualified after the Candidates tournament.

The collaboration was facilitated by Sandeep Singhal, who is the co-founder of the WestBridge-Anand Chess Academy (WACA). During his time in Singapore, Gukesh hardly spoke to Upton, which the latter is ‘super happy’ about.

“We have hardly spoken during his time here which I’m super happy about. It suggests that he knows what he needs to do and he is just unrolling plans that we two have come up with in the last six months,” concluded Upton.