I am glad that I kept persisting: Vidit Gujrathi

PUNE: Vidit Gujrathi is aware that rub of the green plays a role in sport. But he also feels that he won the FIDE Swiss GP chess tournament at Isle of Man, UK, ahead of the elite field due to the quality of his play.
“No, it was not a blessing in disguise,” he told TOI when asked about losing the first round.
“Of course, you may need some kind of fortune to win a tournament.But if you look at it, I was not (positionally) worse in any of the games... not even close to worse or losing.”
World No. 28 Vidit, aged 29, sealed a deserved spot in the eight-man Candidates tournament for the World Championship.
The 15th seed’s early loss and some other favourable results meant that he played only one opponent above his own rating strength (drawn with Hikaru Nakamura in eighth round) in the 11-round tournament despite being the leader or co-leader since the sixth round. But then, that’s the nature of the Swiss League.
“I am thrilled…winning a tournament of this magnitude is never easy. It’s the biggest moment of my career so far,” said Vidit, rated 2716. “The thing which played in my favour was that when I got a good position, I was able to convert them into victories.
At some point, the opponents could have put up better resistance. But they crumbled. But it was not to that extent (where it can be attributed to just luck).”
Vidit made the first attempt to qualify for the Candidates via the 2015 World Cup but failed to cross the first hurdle. He also lost in the quarterfinals in the last two editions of the knockout event.
On his journey, he said, “It hasn’t been easy. On countless occasions, I came close to winning some tournaments or having a great performance, but somehow, mostly it ended in an anti-climatic way. “It wasn’t easy to persist when there were dark days and I also kept losing hope... Now that finally it has clicked, I am glad that I kept persisting.”
Explaining his unexpected surge and the top finish ahead of Fabiano Caruana, Nakamura, Nodirbek Abdusattorov, D Gukesh and R Praggnanandhaa, he said, “It was a cumulative effect. I had been working a lot on my game for the past couple of years but I was getting results in only bits and pieces. In this tournament, it all added up. I feel overall I was way more relaxed than usual and I was holding my nerves better in clutch situations. Also I was able to win on demand on many occasions and that showed something strong has come about mentally.
“Of course, good competition motivates you and pushes you further… and yes there was less pressure. Nowadays, it’s completely normal to see the (Indian) talents do well and it’s not a surprise.”
On the games that gave him satisfaction in the last fortnight, Vidit said, “Two games in particular… the win in the penultimate round. I was black and I had to win on demand against a very strong player (Daniel Bogdan) which is never easy. Also it was a very high-quality game. Considering the tournament situation it was extra special.”