India's chess star D Gukesh, who is fighting China's Ding Liren in the World Championship finals, has said that while playing at the marquee event is very pressured, he considers it a privilege to represent India at the biggest stage. He added that he is focused on taking one game at a time and is looking to have 'many more good days' in the next few weeks.
Playing with black pieces, Gukesh bounced back to draw the second game against defending champion Liren in the World Chess Championship in Singapore. He had lost the first game, only to receive much criticism.
This was a day after Liren (black) exploited Gukesh's blunder in a French Defense match to clinch the first game. Unlikely of the youngster, he looked quite devastated after his mistake found Liren 1-0 up.
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"Today was a good day and hopefully, we will have many more good days coming. Gaju (Gajewski) is not only helping me with chess but also helping me get ready mentally and maintain my well-being. He said a few things that helped me recover quickly," Gukesh said while speaking to the media after the second game on Tuesday.
"There is some pressure for anyone playing in a World Championship; there is a lot of pressure. But I also see it as a privilege to represent so many people and my country," Gukesh added.
Even though Liren was playing with white pieces in the second game, he couldn't bag the advantage much like Gukesh in the first game and had to share the point.
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"Draw with black in the world championship match is always nice and it's too early, we still have a long match. I think after I was surprised in the opening, I reacted pretty decently and I didn't give him any chances. It was a solid game with black, which is nice," Gukesh said.
Game 3 will be played on Wednesday at 2:30 pm IST.