Will Gukesh SURVIVE Sindarov?

He won't.. 

Is what we're all thinking, aren't we? Sindarov showed up to the Candidates as an outsider with 15% odds of winning it(as he self assessed in an interview). But right from the start, he ate the field and left no crumbs. 

This is where it all started, a simple pawn push by Pragg to attack the bishop on c5. But Sindarov's intentions were clear, he sacked a piece for 2 pawns with Nxb4!? and won the game. Beginners watching this, don't try this at home. Or maybe try, but you won't pull off a Sindarov. No one can. Neither could Fabi or Hikaru, who were the favourites going into the Candidates. 

Sindarov At The Candidates Closing Ceremony

During the closing ceremony the confidence with which he got on stage to accept his gold medal, a little head nod of approval, and that fierce look in his eyes, definitely made me flinch as a Gukesh fan. He had the look that said "I'm not done, yet. I'm coming for everything!" This is not going to be easy. In fact, even the word difficult doesn't really cover it. The match against Ding was difficult. Gukesh lost the first game and had to fight back when the chips were down. The final game blunder, with Rf2??. Who can forget that? 

I can't. I was at the live studio in Mumbai when Samay, Tania, Sagar and Amruta were commentating on the dull boring draw that we all thought was going to end in a draw. When Samay had to leave because of work, I took five minutes to join the panel, thinking, “What could really happen in that time?” Oh boy, was I wrong. As soon as Tania let out her "What? What?" and Sagar his "Oh my god", I leaped towards the stage like Spider-Man who'd found Mary Jane. Then Gukesh started smiling, he started crying and we saw all of it live. He couldn't control his emotions and neither could we. As he won, the live audience in Mumbai erupted, with happiness swirling around the room in a way that closely resembled an Indian Cricket World Cup win.

We're the world champions, it's a matter of pride. Vishy sir showed the way and Gukesh followed in his footsteps. Now that we have it, we don't want to let go. But whether we want it or not, a storm is coming. And it promises to wipe everything in its way. 

So what would it take to stop Sindarov? I've heard the same statement everywhere "Gukesh needs to get back to his prime." It just makes sense when you hear it.“Ah, if Gukesh touched his form from 2024, he would pose a stiff challenge even to an in-form Sindarov.” Fair. But why did Gukesh play so well in 2024? Why did he win the Candidates, the Olympiad, and the World Championship all in one year? Good chess, sure. But that’s a prerequisite. He did this mainly because he had a clear goal of becoming world champ.

Pragg, Arjun, Vidit and others have all demonstrated signs of achieving the ultimate goal of champion of the world. But Gukesh thrived as his goal had actionable steps. Imagine yourself driving a car down a crowded Mumbai lane. “If I take a left, then go right, then right, and two lefts later, I’m at my destination.” To achieve this goal, you need: 1. A car. 2. Fuel. 3. Time. 4. Motivation. You gather the resources and head towards the goal. Now what happens when you arrive at your destination and get the job done? You start looking for your next one. And what comes after becoming World Champion?

Nothing. Nothing. There is nowhere higher to go after you become No. 1. Even though Gukesh wasn't really world number 1, he did achieve his childhood goal, a goal synonymous with being the best. And now, it was about staying where was rather than climbing up, which is easier said than done.

We’ve had 18 World Chess Champions, but when we talk about choosing the greatest of all time, most players narrow it down to 2 players: Magnus Carlsen and Garry Kasparov. The rest? Legends of the game, but ones who couldn't dominate the game for decades. Will Gukesh join this list too? But even more importantly, having the title of world champion often meant you were the best in the world at that time. But for Gukesh, he knew that's not true. The cognitive dissonance between achieving the ultimate goal and seeing the world treat you as the ultimate champion, while at the same time knowing deep inside you that you aren't number 1, invites the obvious temptation to prove yourself to the people who already believe you’re worthy of it.

Gukesh performs best when he has a clear goal, and he needs a new one. He needs to ditch his fear of proving to the world that he’s worthy of being World Champion. He needs to dominate. That's the goal. He needs to believe he's the best. As Alex Hormozi says, confidence doesn’t come from repeating affirmations, but from stacking evidence until it becomes obvious. When Magnus said, “I only know when I sit down at the board, I am better than the other guy,” it came from years of evidence stacked up to prove that. Gukesh needs evidence himself, not the burden of providing it to the world.

Gukesh doesn’t need to become the Gukesh of 2024 again. That version of him was climbing a mountain. This version has already stood on top of it. The challenge now is harder: to find a reason to climb when the world already calls you champion. If he can turn that title from a finish line into a starting point, then Sindarov isn’t the end of the story. He’s just the next test. And if Gukesh finds that new fire, this won’t be a survival story at all. It’ll be the beginning of a reign.