Interview with the World junior champion Abhijeet Gupta Print
Thursday, 21 August 2008 07:13

Exclusive for Chessdom.com and FIDE.com!

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Congratulations for the title! How does it feel to be the new World Junior Champion?

Thank you very much! It feels great to be a World Junior Champion and it was my first world medal so I feel even more proud.

The way to the top was not easy, after round 8 you had 5,0. Tell us about the magic of your last 5 consecutive wins?

At that time I was not even thinking of coming into the top 10. I just tried to remain focused to the end and it finally paid off.

What was the most difficult game of the competition?

I would say the loss against GM Safarli was quiet difficult psychologically. First I had clear advantage and then I misjudged one line and landed in a clear mess. It was little bit difficult to remain on track after such kind of loss but I tried to be disciplined and it worked.

And which game did you like the most?

The penultimate game against IM Braun was beautiful because I took the risk to play in a line where he had lost 2 days ago, but in the end it was me who was better prepared.

What was the key to victory? You talent, your coach, the rise of chess in India?

I would say it was a bit of everything. Chess in India is on a boom and our federation is doing is a great job for it. And of course my coach helped a great deal not only during this tournament, but in general as well... I would let other people judge my talent:)

Where is your next competition?

I wil be playing Common Wealth which is in Nagpur, India in September after that Hoogevens and then I have a close tournament in Portugal.

Thank you for the interview and one more time congratulations for the title!

Thank you!