Grandmaster Vidit Gujrathi on Tuesday said "everything came together" for him at the Grand Swiss event on his way to the Candidates, and expressed a wish to make the world chess championship final ahead of celebrated names such as R Praggnanandhaa.
The 29-year-old Gujrathi is among the three Indians who have qualified for the Candidates event to be held in April, with the winner of the eight-player competition set to take on China's Ding Liren in the next world championship.
It is for the first time that three Indian male players are going to feature in the event.
R Praggnanandhaa and D Gukesh are the other two Indians who have qualified for the event, with Nasik's Gujrathi being the first from the state of Maharashtra to reach such a level.
"Everything came together in three-day Grand Swiss, where just one game after the other, I kept winning," Gujrathi said during a media conference at the Mumbai Press Club.
"Probably this last one-and-a-half years were training (me) for such a situation — when the big-stakes situation came — I was ready for it," he said.
"I want it to be me who makes it from India," Gujrathi said.
‘Now that Carlsen’s not playing the dynamics are good’
Gujrathi said it was expected to not have five-time world champion Magnus Carlsen at Candidates, as his absence makes the "dynamics" interesting.
"It was expected. It's not a surprise for me that he's not playing. If he would have played, he was without a doubt, a favourite.
"That doesn't mean that I'm like, discounting myself. But he would have definitely added a new layer of friction in winning the tournament. But now that he's not playing the dynamics are good," he said.
‘Almost stopped playing chess’
Gujrathi said he had to keep reinventing himself along the journey.
"There were a couple of points in my career which were very critical, where I thought of almost stopping chess.
"One was when I was struggling to become a grandmaster. I was there with my rating, I was like 15-16 years old, but I was struggling to take the final step. It was coming very close. Even on my birthday, I think I missed my grandmaster norms. I still remember that," he said.
"The second critical point is two years ago, where I had reached, I was in the world's top 20 and top 30 for a long time. But I was not making the next breakthrough.
"Even like, I saw some signs, like Asian Games, I was about to win the gold (medal) but missed out. It was heartbreaking, but there were signs of success, but not entirely," he said.
‘This dream is not easy’
Gujrathi also hoped for support from the state or the central government in order to bolster his preparations while adding that the All India Chess Federation (AICF) has already earmarked Rs 2 crore.
The financial assistance is meant for Gujrathi, Praggnanandhaa and R Vaishali for the event from April 2-25 with each player getting around Rs 30 lakh for training and getting a coach.
"I'm really hoping that they aid me in this journey because this dream is not easy. It's playing for the absolute top (like) in (the) World Championship. It requires a lot of resources," he said.
"I would be very happy if they could aid me in my training because I know that I'm not going to leave any stone unturned in my efforts.
"But only that is not enough. You need a team around you. You need coaches. You need to leverage technology. If I get that aid, I don't want to compromise on my training. I'm hoping that the government supports me," he added.
Gujrathi said preparing for such an event also involves a high cost which includes remuneration for multiple coaches.
"It's like five months of full-time training of coaches, then flying them out for training camps to compensate for the entire duration. It's not just one coach — it's a team. Plus other things like physical training and other support stuff," he said.
"The budget is crossing Rs 1 to 1.3 crore, something like this. It's very resource-intensive. But considering the stakes, I'm still thinking it's on the lower end. It could be slightly higher," he added.
