The victory of Gukesh Dommaraju which made him the youngest ever Chess World Champion has generated great excitement in the country. In Goa there is great excitement with this development. The young champion had played in Goa in 2009 and had shown his skill and talent in a tournament when he was just 13 years old.
Mahesh Kahndolkar, President of the Goa Chess Association said Gukesh had come 10th in a field that contained several GM. He said, “His talent was there for all to see. This is just the culmination of an interesting journey”. He said plans were afoot to get the world champion to Goa in January to attend a chess tournament. He said, “There will be an event in Delhi to congratulate him on his win and we will meet him and try to convince him to come over to Goa.” Speaking about the win he said what Gukesh has done is unparalleled in the sport. He said that playing at this level at this age was unbelievable and that no one would be able to match his feat in the next twenty years.
When asked if any Goan player could reach such heights he said much was expected from Leon Mendonca and Ethan Vaz. There was also Bhakti Kulkarni who was a woman’s grand master, he said.
For the queen of Goan chess Bhakti Kulkarni it was a proud moment for India and the sports fraternity. She said, “Our GM Gukesh D has won the World Championship title , winning the match against the experienced former World Champion Ding Liren of China wasn’t an easy task. Great to see that Gukesh has become the youngest to win the World Title”
Speaking about Goa’s players she said, “Definitely Goa has got many talented players now, GM Leon who has crossed 2600+ elo at a young age,and a few more titled players. I guess everybody is energized by Gukesh’s grand victory so I am sure players ,their parents and coaches will take extra efforts and try to perform well by taking inspiration from Gukesh”.
Regarding her plans she said she had won a strong international master round robin event in the Czech Republic which gave her a couple of rating points which gave her very positive vibes and she intended to participate in some tmts really soon. At present she said she was focusing on her students who will be participating in their Nationals and other events . She has started her own coaching which is both online and offline. Speaking about Gukesh she said, “I feel Gukesh is very fortunate to have a great supporting Team! Having Former World Champion Vishy Anand, his seconds definitely helped him achieve this feat!”
Dilip Vetenkar the father of Sairaj who is a talented young star in Goa said he was now focused on his studies as a 16 year old but would go back to the game next year after the exams. The silver medallist in the Nationals is one of the bright young stars in the sport in the State.
The brightest star in the sport in Goa is undoubtedly Ethan Vaz the 13 year old who is already the youngest International Grandmaster and was the world number 1 in u-12. When asked what he had to say about the win by Gukesh he said, “Congratulations, Gukesh! You have made India proud and inspired us all! Congratulations on becoming the youngest World Chess Champion in history!” Speaking about himself he said that he wanted to become a Grandmaster as soon as possible and continue working hard to achieve his dream of becoming a World Chess Champion, as soon as possible.” His father said, “He understands that the journey depends a good deal on various external factors like access to tournaments, advanced coaching, and, most importantly, financial support in the form of sponsorship’s, to be able to have the opportunities to pursue the dream”.
One can only hope that this start continues with more victories by Indian and Goan stars in chess.