He is the World champion alright, but has copped a lot of criticism in the recent past over his performances after ascending the throne. Yet, D. Gukesh is calm personified as he handles the flak he faces over his patchy form.

Here in the Norwegian capital to play the Norway Chess tournament, the Indian, who will turn 20 on May 29, handled questions about the dip in his form over the past 18 months or so with quiet assurance.

Keep performing

“I have not been performing well in the last one-and-a-half years and I think I would say that my performances have been way below expectations. They (critics) have the right to say what they feel and I have the right to do my best,” Gukesh said ahead of the prestigious event.

He said he would be happy to play the World Championship match anywhere, but admitted that it would be special if it was to be held in India, even though the pressure of defending the title at home would be immense.

“Anywhere would be nice... In India there’s always a lot of pressure. The World Championships will attract a lot of attention. If it’s in India it will be supercool and I will be very happy,” he added.

Asked if he would like to see a repeat of the incident where Magnus Carlsen banged the table after a loss to him in the tournament last year, Gukesh said chess players generally don’t show a lot of emotions but when it did happen, a lot of people got attracted to chess.”

(The writer is in Oslo at the invitation of Norway Chess).