WestBridge Capital celebrates Gukesh's World Championship victory in Bangalore
Gukesh has made history by becoming the youngest World Chess Champion. What better way to celebrate than with those who made it possible? The WestBridge-Anand Chess Academy (WACA) organized a felicitation ceremony on 5th January 2025 where Gukesh, his parents, and team members were honored. The event was hosted by Tania Sachdev and Sagar Shah at the Good Shepherd Auditorium in Bangalore. Gukesh and his team shared their experiences from this incredible journey. As a token of gratitude, the World Champion presented specially crafted rings to his parents and team members. The event also featured exciting games when Samay Raina joined the stage. The celebrations concluded with a cake-cutting ceremony. Check out the article for photos and videos of the event. | Photo: Eventive communications
WACA WACA, eh eh!
The world now has a new World Chess Champion from India - D Gukesh! His victory of becoming the youngest World Champion ever definitely deserved celebrations. What better way to celebrate than with those who made it possible? The WestBridge-Anand Chess Academy (WACA) organized an event in Bangalore, where Gukesh, his team, and his family were all part of the celebrations.
As it was a celebratory event, how is it possible not to have a song, especially the one made for the World Champion himself?
When the duo entered, everyone was reminded of thaticonic moment from the World Championship...
It was the perfect moment to trace Gukesh's journey - from watching Anand-Carlsen's World Championship in 2013 to becoming a World Champion himself!
When asked about how it feels to wake up as a World Champion, Gukesh said:
"The first few days were a bit overwhelming, I was in the celebrations mode. But it has settled down. I am very happy to wake up every day as a World Champion. Lots more to come!"
"Generally, I like all the pictures other than me crying. It was just unexpected. I was mentally ready for the tie-breaks. But suddenly, within 5 minutes, I was the World Champion. It was such a shock and a huge emotional change. My team and I have been working crazy for this moment last year for this moment and it happened at the least expected moment." - said Gukesh when asked about his reaction to seeing these moments now.
Everyone has seen the video where Gukesh expressed his dream of becoming the youngest World Champion. But what did Sagar Shah think when Gukesh expressed his dream to him 7 years ago?
"I knew he was amazingly talented. He was 2350 rated at that time. But to say that I want to be the youngest Chess Champion and to actually become one. It's just surreal!" - Sagar.
What's next after becoming the World Champion? Gukesh shared: "My overall focus now is to reach my potential. If that's enough to be the best player, we will find out."
Gukesh's World Championship victory has created a new era of chess in the world for sure. But how can anyone forget the impact of Viswanathan Anand on Indian chess? Considering he has been one of the important people in Gukesh's journey, how could he not be a part of the celebrations?
"In a million years, it would be difficult to predict that Gukesh would get where he is now in four years. I realized he had the mental potential obviously, but all my scenarios were longer." - Anand shared, reflecting on Gukesh's historic achievement.
Gukesh's head coach, Grzegorz Gajewski was also present at the event with his family. He began working with Gukesh in 2023 and has become not just a mentor, but also a close friend. Apart from chess, Gajewski is also Gukesh's sports partner joining him for tennis, badminton, and pickleball. When asked about Gukesh's best quality, he said:
"He is very mature. He is willing to work hard. He learns from his mistakes. He put a lot of thinking processes into that. It’s a very rare quality even at the very top level. "
On behalf of Gukesh's seconds, Harikrishna joined the event, coming directly from Prague. He has been an important part of the teams of two current World Champions- Ju Wenjun and D Gukesh. According to him, the most important role of a second is "to give good vibes to the player."
Paddy Upton, Gukesh's mental coach, who couldn’t attend the event in person, sent a video message to be a part of the celebrations:
"I generally don't work with young athletes because they don't have a great ability to self-reflect. But very shortly into my first conversation with Gukesh, I realized that not only he is an incredible chess player, but also has a remarkable ability to self-reflect. What really stands out most with Gukesh is his big-match temperament. His ability to let go of the loss in the first and the twelfth games and come back, along with many other qualities, truly makes him a deserving World Champion!"
The most crucial support in Gukesh's journey, his parents, stepped onto the stage. No wonder they were proud to share the joy of their son's incredible achievement! Both had a message for parents:
"See what your kid is passionate about and let them grow. We can’t force them with our thoughts or goals. If they are good enough, they will find a way. " - Rajinikanth, Gukesh's father.
"If your kid is interested in something other than academics, then try to support them in whatever they want to become." - Padmakumari, Gukesh's mother.
Everyone welcomed the one person who sparked the fire in Gukesh's journey- Vishnu Prasanna. He has dedicated much of his time to training young talents. It was during a training camp in 2017, that Gukesh first trained under Vishnu. Within just two months after the camp, Gukesh achieved his first IM norm. During this event, Anand shared the great news that Vishnu Prasanna is now a part of WACA.
"This whole journey has been about being in the right place at the right time, with the right resources and the right people." - Vishnu Prasanna.
Lastly, it was the time to appreciate the man who financially supported Gukesh - Sandeep Singhal. He is a perfect example of how a sponsor should back a talent. Talking about his first memory with Gukesh, the moment he truly believed in his potential, Sandeep shared:
"One of the online classes we organized during Covid was ‘Physical fitness’. All the WACA Candidates joined but the person who was totally prepared was Gukesh. He was ready with the mat and clothes. I knew that he was looking for that little X factor. That was my first memory of that group."
After all the guests gathered on the stage, Gukesh presented a specially crafted ring to them. It was his way of expressing gratitude to his pillars of strength, the people who played a crucial role in his journey to becoming the World Champion.
After all the felicitation, it was time to add spice to the event...
Career-defining games for Gukesh:
The first clash of the evening was Samay vs Gukesh. To make things interesting, Samay was allowed to seek Anand's help three times during the game. The time control was 5 minutes for Samay and 90 seconds for Gukesh with no increment. Check out the video to know who won:
The second game brought a unique twist. Two teams of World Champions faced off: Anand, Gajewski, and Tania vs Gukesh, Vishnu, and Harikrishna. The time control was 15 minutes with no increment.
After these fun games, the cake-cutting ceremony took place which made the perfect end to the celebrations.
Photo Gallery:
All the photos are clicked by Eventive Communications.
Watch the entire live stream
|
Your chance to meet the 18th World Champion D Gukesh in Bangalore!
@ 30/12/2024 by Himank Ghosh (en) |
|
The WACA celebrations 2024
@ 30/07/2024 by Tina Popli (en) |
|
An update on the WACA celebrations 2024
@ 23/05/2024 by Sagar Shah (en) |
|
A unique opportunity for Bangalore to meet Vishy, Gukesh, Pragg and Vaishali | WACA celebrations 2024
@ 17/05/2024 by Sagar Shah (en) |
|
How Vishy Anand is supporting young super talents of India through WACA
@ 03/11/2022 by Sagar Shah (en) |
|
Your chance to meet Vishy Anand and the young super talents of Indian chess in Bangalore!
@ 06/09/2022 by Sagar Shah (en) |