World Chess Champion Gukesh gets a Rajinikanth-esque joke thanks to Vishy

Of all the nice things Viswanathan Anand has said about World Chess Champion D Gukesh, a Rajinikanth one-liner he threw during a felicitation ceremony must be among the best.

"I think tie-breaks are scared of Gukesh," said Vishy to the audience's amusement at the event hosted by ChessBase India in Bengaluru on Sunday. It was a classic Rajinikanth-esque joke, often told by fans of the Tamil cinema icon to project his larger-than-life persona.

Vishy made the funny remark while mentioning Gukesh securing an unexpected win in Singapore just before the tie-breakers. "The moment it (tie-breakers) comes close, something happens," Vishy said with a smile. The five-time World Champion added that it wasn't just the case of Game 14 that was the final classical tie before the tie-breakers kicked in.

"Even more so has to be one between Fabi against Nepo in the Candidates," Vishy said. The reference was to the game between Fabiano Caruana and Ian Nepomniachtchi in the final round of the Candidates Tournament in Canada, which served as the qualification event for the World championship.

Gukesh's chances of qualifying resulted in the match between Fabi and Nepo ending in a draw. Despite Fabi getting closer to victory, the game somehow ended in a draw and paved the way for Gukesh's qualification. Interestingly, Gukesh's father is named Rajinikanth.