New Delhi: World champion D Gukesh is set to defend his title against Uzbekistan’s Javokhir Sindarov later this year, and Grandmaster Krishnan Sasikiran believes the young Indian needs to develop other areas of his game to stay ahead. According to Sasikiran, Gukesh’s tendency to do complex roles makes him dangerous, and often leads to time pressure.“Sometimes Gukesh takes too much risk with his inconsistent play which creates confusion and imbalance… somehow, he wants things to go smoothly, it doesn’t matter if the place is in chaos,” Sasikiran told PTI.“He’s a master at this type of game but he often gets into trouble. So, one thing I would advise him to focus on is to speed up his count, he needs to be quick, because you don’t want to always be in a situation where your opponent is putting you in trouble. “Former vice-captain of world cricket Viswanathan Anand also emphasized that strong preparation and memorization are very important. Gukesh has had mixed results since winning the world title, struggling in several major tournaments. Sasikiran said Gukesh should focus on putting opponents in uncomfortable situations and study Sindarov’s weaknesses carefully. He warned that the opponent is very well organized and relies heavily on memory and quick play.“From what I have seen from Sindarov, all these things of the candidate, they are also making other challenges, they prepared very deeply for the Candidates’ competition. I mean the highest chess game, so the world game will be very difficult,” he explained.He said that Gukesh should improve his technical turnaround and avoid missing opportunities. However, the Grandmaster from Chennai feels that the experience can help the Indian.“But Gukesh has been at the same level before, he has played in international tournaments before, so Gukesh favors the match, but the opponent is also strong,” he added.Sasikiran believes that Gukesh and his team have already narrowed down several opening options and will continue to prepare until the match begins.
