The other side chess board: Gukesh Dommaraju's superlative fitness is an advantage, says chess coach Vishnu Prasanna

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After becoming world champion in Singapore on 13th December, India's teenage chess prodigy Gukesh Dommaraju didn't mince words saying he dreamt of earning a crowning glory at the global level nearly a decade ago!

However, a holistic approach (mental, physical and emotional well being) to achieve success at the highly competitive world chess competition earnestly started five years back says Vishnu Prasanna, former coach of world champion.

A good balanced approach to improve overall development was key to success for the Indian Grand Master in Singapore, the chess coach revealed. Gukesh beat China's Ding Liren by 7.5-6.5 to become the youngest to win the world crown.

"Gukesh has been following vigorous physical training for the last five years to prepare himself for the big day," the chess coach revealed. "He has been devoting at least an hour a day to stay healthy."

Besides playing squash and tennis, which involves eye hand coordination and improves cardio, the reigning world champion has been practicing own body weight exercises.

"Gukesh doesn't miss a day of training," Prasanna said, who was Gukesh coach from 2017 to 2022.

The chess coach based out of Chennai said, overall development gave a big boost to Gukesh's confidence. "The 18-year-old chess prodigy exhibited steely nerves---but all that has been a product of hard work done over a long period of time. More than five years," Prasanna explained.

"He is generally busy in chess related activities for more than 10 hours a day that moulded him to earn world champion crown."

Chess is all about concentration, the coach said and it saps lots of energy during highly competitive contests like the World Championship. "To concentrate for a long period of time during the competition it is vital to stay focused. That comes through having good fitness," the chess coach said.

Gukesh's food habits however, haven't changed much over the period of time. "He prefers South Indian food," the chess coach said. "I don't think he would make changes in his eating habits."

Prasanna incidentally met Gukesh during a school chess camp in Chennai in 2017. "He approached me to guide him and I agreed," the chess coach revealed.

The association lasted nearly six years but after becoming Grand Master in 2022, Gukesh moved on and changed his coaching staff, which further polished his skills, Prasanna added.

Gukesh joined Viswanathan Anand, former world champion, Chess Academy in 2022 which further improved his overall development.

During Covid-19 Pandemic, there were online classes for Gukesh. "He was highly disciplined. He had just one foremost thought in his mind to become world champion," the coach explained about staying focused all these years.

Prasanna said Gukesh winning the world title will further give fillip to chess in India.

"India has abundance of talent and Indian players will dominate global chess in coming years," Prasanna said, who also runs a chess academy in Chennai.