Winning ploy: Play long, tire Ding out
Hindustan Times Gurugram|December 14, 2024
Gukesh's trainer Gajewski speaks about how the team of seconds was built, the biggest challenge during the match, and value of surprises
Susan Ninan
Winning ploy: Play long, tire Ding out

BENGALURU: Grzegorz Gajewski was on his way to dinner on Thursday night, running through lines for Friday's possible tiebreaks when Ding Liren blundered and lost in what was seemingly a drawn game. The match ended abruptly and at 18, Gukesh Dommaraju turned the 18th world champion. It was the payoff of a strategy that Team Gukesh, led by Gajewski, had put in place.

"Ding was a bit of a mystery coming into this match. During the match, every day, we were learning new things about him - the way he plays, also the way he feels and evaluates positions," the 39-year-old Pole told HT on Friday. "Actually, quite quickly, we came up with this idea that it's best to make Ding play for as long as possible, every single game, ideally six hours, just to exhaust him. We assumed that in the long run, this strategy just has to pay off. It eventually did."

While Gajewski was in Singapore, the rest of the team was tucked away in Spain. The Polish-Indian-German combine of Radoslaw Wojtaszek, Pentala Harikrishna and Vincent Keymer stayed put in a rented seaside villa, an hour from Malaga, in the south of Spain and remotely helped with the ideas. Gukesh revealed his team only after he won the match on Thursday.

"Countries such as Poland, Germany or Czech Republic in late November or December, are not the best places to spend a couple of weeks together. The weather is simply miserable most of the time. Spain is glorious because the sun is just pleasant. Of course, the time zones helped because the moment the games started in Singapore, the guys woke up and we could discuss the next day's game. So, I think it worked out beautifully," said Gajewski.

The team was handpicked ahead of the Candidates tournament, which Gukesh won.

Denne historien er fra December 14, 2024-utgaven av Hindustan Times Gurugram.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra December 14, 2024-utgaven av Hindustan Times Gurugram.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA HINDUSTAN TIMES GURUGRAMSe alt
This is news to me: Madhavan on rumours of his casting in Raghava Lawrence-starrer
Hindustan Times Gurugram

This is news to me: Madhavan on rumours of his casting in Raghava Lawrence-starrer

Soon after rumours started circulating online that actor R Madhavan had been cast as the antagonist in the upcoming film Benz from the Lokesh Kanagaraj Cinematic Universe (LCU), the 52-year-old took to X to clear the air.

time-read
1 min  |
December 14, 2024
MY GRANDSONS INTRODUCED ME TO MICHAEL JACKSON, JUSTIN BIEBER AND BTS: USTAD AMJAD ALI KHAN
Hindustan Times Gurugram

MY GRANDSONS INTRODUCED ME TO MICHAEL JACKSON, JUSTIN BIEBER AND BTS: USTAD AMJAD ALI KHAN

The sarod virtuoso reveals he loves listening to Western music

time-read
1 min  |
December 14, 2024
Jared Leto in talks to join cast of upcoming JFK thriller
Hindustan Times Gurugram

Jared Leto in talks to join cast of upcoming JFK thriller

Scar-winning actor Jared Leto is set to board the ensemble cast of Assassination, a highly anticipated thriller directed by filmmaker Barry Levinson.

time-read
1 min  |
December 14, 2024
OTT IS NOW ABOUT STARS, COMEBACKS
Hindustan Times Gurugram

OTT IS NOW ABOUT STARS, COMEBACKS

Actor Divya Dutta speaks about how good writing and good casting is the star for her, irrespective of the medium

time-read
1 min  |
December 14, 2024
Female comics can soon outnumber the boys: Gurleen
Hindustan Times Gurugram

Female comics can soon outnumber the boys: Gurleen

Stand-up comedian Gurleen Pannu is known for her spontaneity and one-liners.

time-read
1 min  |
December 14, 2024
You can't do that, says Vishal Krishna on Tamil body demanding ban on social media reviews
Hindustan Times Gurugram

You can't do that, says Vishal Krishna on Tamil body demanding ban on social media reviews

Everyone has the right to expression... If your film is good, they will talk about it. If your film is not good, they will not talk about it. VISHAL KRISHNA, Actor-filmmaker

time-read
1 min  |
December 14, 2024
'WHEN I GOT FAME, I KNEW IT WASN'T BECAUSE OF ME'
Hindustan Times Gurugram

'WHEN I GOT FAME, I KNEW IT WASN'T BECAUSE OF ME'

Model-turned actor Rohman Shawl recently made his feature film debut with the Tamil project Amaran, and he is basking in the appreciation his role as the antagonist has brought him.

time-read
1 min  |
December 14, 2024
I have been manifesting this for 10 years: Riddhima on meeting PM Modi
Hindustan Times Gurugram

I have been manifesting this for 10 years: Riddhima on meeting PM Modi

Riddhima Kapoor Sahni; (inset) Sahni with PM Modi

time-read
2 mins  |
December 14, 2024
Doing roles that I've never done before is very exciting
Hindustan Times Gurugram

Doing roles that I've never done before is very exciting

Actor Kunal Kapoor has a lot to look forward to.

time-read
1 min  |
December 14, 2024
Hindustan Times Gurugram

TREESA-GAYATRI BOW OUT OF BWF WORLD TOUR FINALS

Indian women's doubles pair of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand missed out on a semifinal spot at the BWF World Tour Finals after losing to Japan's Nami Matsuyama and Chiharu Shida in straight games in their third and final group A match here on Friday.

time-read
1 min  |
December 14, 2024