D Gukesh going through a similar phase as Rocky Balboa: Indian GM and chess coach Srinath Narayanan

Gukesh Dommaraju was expected to dominate chess after his breakthrough run in 2024. The teenager from Chennai, after all, had broken the legendary Garry Kasparov's record to become the youngest champion in the history of the FIDE World Championship.

Gukesh was also the youngest winner of the prestigious Candidates tournament and also starred in India's historic golden sweep at the Chess Olympiad. He would then begin the year 2025 with a runner-up finish at the Tata Steel Chess, further indicating that the World Championship triumph was no fluke.

The Indian Grandmaster's form, however, has gone through a freefall since then, starting with his disastrous performances at the Freestyle Chess Grand Chess Tour events in Weissenhaus and Paris.

While he had flashes of brilliance thereafter, including his maiden victory over world No 1 Magnus Carlsen at the Norway Chess, his form graph has remained on a downward curve since – whether at the FIDE Grand Swiss or the FIDE World Cup or even the recent Prague Masters, where he had remained winless until the very final round.

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'Gukesh has been trying to figure out answers'

Such a drastic loss of form spanning more than a year now certainly does raise concern, especially considering the fact that Gukesh will be defending his world title later this year.

Srinath Narayanan, who was the non-playing captain of the Indian 'Open' team at the 2024 Chess Olympiad, isn't too worried about Gukesh's lack of wins in recent tournaments. The Indian GM and chess coach added that the 19-year-old had become a world champion "quite early" and that such a phase was bound to happen.

Srinath Narayanan was the non-playing captain of the Indian 'Open' team that had won gold at the 2024 Chess Olympiad, with D Gukesh winning gold on Board 1. AP

"He has been struggling since a while. And he has been trying to figure out the answers. But I think he is just going through that phase of struggle, which happens at every level. And it just so happens that he became a world champion quite early," Srinath told Firstpost in an exclusive conversation.

"But he has to go through that phase of struggle and eventual growth. And I think that is what is happening through his career," he added.

Srinath compares Gukesh with Rocky

Srinath further likened Gukesh's struggle to that of a fictional Philadelphia-based boxer – Rocky Balboa, played by Sylvester Stallone in the iconic Rocky series.

"If you have watched the Rocky movies, there is a time when Rocky Balboa defeats Apollo (Creed). And then he goes through a period of massive struggle and he gets knocked out by Clubber Lang in Rocky 3. And then he rediscovers himself and beats him back and then goes on to defeat Drago in Rocky 4.

"So, I think Gukesh is going through a similar phase to what Rocky was going through after the initial success. And it will take its own time for him to figure out the answers within himself and have the decisions back," Srinath continued.

Being a chess coach himself, Srinath knows a thing or two about such phases and how to help players come out of such a rut. And his advice to Gukesh to overcome his poor form in time for his world title defence would be to rediscover his love for the sport and understand why he fell in love with chess in the first place.

D Gukesh finished ninth at the Tata Steel Chess as well as the Prague Masters this year. Image: PTI

"It would be to basically get in touch with why he fell in love with chess in the first place and to connect with that self of his, where he plays purely for the enjoyment of playing. And not to try too hard but to relax," Srinath said on the topic of advising Gukesh in his current state.

"But having said that, it's always easier said than done, these things. I have gone through periods of insane struggle where I knew what I was supposed to do. But to get myself to do that, get myself in that zone mentally, was still a massive challenge. So, yeah. I think in terms of knowing what to do, that's not the hard part.

"But to actually get yourself into that state of mind, I think that's much harder," he added.

After two disappointing tournaments so far this year, finishing ninth at Tata Steel Chess as well as at the Prague Masters, Gukesh will be hoping to regain his form at the Grand Chess Tour that gets underway in May.

That will be followed by Norway Chess in June, where Gukesh will come face to face with five-time world champion Carlsen for the first time since Clutch Chess: Champions Showdown in November.