Even after the boisterous fans’ chants at Chennai airport and a grand welcome for D. Gukesh the newly crowned youngest World Champion D. Gukesh has not forgotten him. After returning from Singapore on 16th December he took to his X handle, expressing thankfulness and writing, ‘"Thanks @vishy64theking! Inspiration from the start; joined WACA, helped with Gaju, and learned a lot discussing Chess, etc." 

Gukesh defeated Liren 7.5-6.5 in an intense battle across 14 games to win the World Chess Championship match. With this, the 18-year-old became the second Indian after Anand to win the prestigious title.

The World Champion hailed Anand as his inspiration from the start and said he learned a lot from him while discussing chess.

Anand also shared his bond with Gukesh and claimed that they speak a lot. The former World Champion hailed the 18-year-old as a fun guy and said he often calls him when he is in Chennai to share his thoughts about the sport.

“The thing with Gukesh is I am quite close to him. We speak a lot. We hang out at tournaments. He's a fun guy. Laughs a lot, and is very good company and I've always enjoyed that. Besides that, I know his team well."

"Gukesh and I often sit and discuss chess. Every time he gets back home to Chennai, he often calls me and says, ‘Sir, I want to share my thoughts’, and we would go over stuff together. All these things I enjoy very much with him,” Anand said.