29-year-old GM says he needs to work on non-chess aspects of his game
PUNE: Vidit Gujrathi is disappointed but not crestfallen.
"I have no regrets," he told TOI after finishing sixth in the eight-player Candidates field that found the World Championship Challenger in D Gukesh in Toronto 10 days ago. The 29-year-old Nashik lad won three games - as many games as Ian Nepomniachtchi and R Praggnanandhaa and just one less than Fabiano Caruana.
But his five defeats meant he fell out of the race with three rounds to go. He also played the most number of decisive games (8/14). "From the spectators' point of view, my games were fun being dramatic," Vidit said on Tuesday.
"But it took a toll on me... there were a lot of emotions due to this fighting chess. It's like when you play with fire, you can burn yourself. And that's what happened at times. But it's much better to play like this and try real hard rather than play safe and not get out of your comfort zone. I was disappointed after losing some games but overall I'm not disappointed with the effort that I put in. I really gave it all. There are still some shortcomings which I need to work on," he said.
Vidit indicated there was not much wrong with his strategy but the execution was not top class. "My intuition was very good, but the problem was I was not trusting it (laughs)," he said. "I saw most of the things in the game, but there was still a little bit of hesitation or doubt, and that was the reason I took slightly more time on the board. And in the critical moments that hesitation cost me some wins. I was spotting things (the right continuations), I was in good shape, but the belief in my intuition was lacking. I have to work on those lines."
Vidit, world No. 28 and India No. 5 as per live ratings, was candid enough to reflect on what he could have done better in terms of preparation. V Anand's former second Surya Sekhar Ganguly was in his corner.
"I would train a bit differently," he said, " Let's say whatever I trained only 5-10% of it comes on the board and probably I would do more of a holistic training rather than just technical training. If I had to go back and change, I would really work more on my nerves and time management."
He felt he should have won his games against Fabiano Caruana and Nijat Abasov in the first half of the tournament (which ended in draws) and also the 11th round game against Ian Nepomniachtchi which he lost. He claimed that he outplayed Hikaru Nakamura in the opening in the second round.
Despite making the Candidates cut by winning last November's FIDE Swiss League GP at Isle of Man - ahead of Gukesh, Caruana, Nakamura, Giri, Pragg, Arjun, Abdusattorv and other stalwarts - Vidit said the qualification cycle is a bit messed up. "It doesn't necessarily reward tournament wins or fighting chess. The rating system is a bit broken, the circuit events had a lot of controversy. It's strange that if you have a good rating and you don't play, you are rewarded for it.
Somebody plays five events and wins two events on the way and does average in the others. The other guy, who doesn't play at all, maintains his rating and can be ahead of the race against this 'active' player. He can play just one tournament and maintain that rating. Inactivity in any sport should not be rewarded. In tennis, if you don't play, you lose your ranking. It makes more sense to me, logically." Vidit is a rare breed in modern chess in terms of fulfilling his potential a tad late in his career. He was a GM at 19, Elo 2700 player at 23 and a Candi date at 29. "Players reach Elo 2600 at 20 like me but they don't touch Elo 2750 at 29. So I don't have a parallel to compare," he said.
For instance, Nepo was Elo 2600 at 18 and Elo 2750 at 26. "I feel I am in the best shape of my career and I will see where it goes. I know I can qualify for the next Candidates. I have to take stock. And changing your personality is one of the hardest things to do. But I really have to change as a person and that's the major challenge. I have to work on non-chess aspects including nerves and off the board activities. These things are tough and not tangible. There are not many experts in this area, so getting the right guidance is not easy," said Vidit, who is not a part of Westbridge Anand Chess Academy (WACA) like Gukesh and Praggnanandhaa.
