Working with Gukesh 'A Fascinating Journey'

In this series of monthly posts featuring a video, we've seen Youtube's ChessBase India channel (CBI) many times, most recently in The London Chess Centre on Video (October 2024). This month's video is a collaboration between CBI and Youtube's Paddy Upton channel, where it lives.

Who is Paddy Upton? Wikipedia's page Paddy Upton (wikipedia.org) informs,

Patrick Anthony Howard 'Paddy' Upton (born 5 November 1968) is a South African born cricket coach specialising as head coach in professional Twenty20 cricket, mental coach to professional athletes, sports scientist executive coach and professor of practice at Deakin University.

What do cricket and chess have in common? The following clip answers that question and many others.

How I'm Coaching Gukesh D for the World Chess Championship (32:13) • '[Published on] Nov 19, 2024'

The video's description said,

In this interview with @ChessBaseIndiachannel, I share my experience working with Indian chess sensation Gukesh D as he prepares for the World Chess Championship. Having worked with world-class athletes across 20+ sports, from legends like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, and Virat Kohli to the Indian Men's Hockey team at the 2024 Olympic Games. Stepping into the world of chess has been a fascinating journey.

The description continued,

In this video, I [Paddy Upton] discuss:
* Why Gukesh stands out as one of the smartest, most self-aware athletes I’ve worked with.
* How "big match temperament" enables athletes to thrive under pressure.
* The importance of focusing on the process rather than the result.
* How universal principles of mental conditioning apply across all sports.
* Lessons from life and spirituality that help athletes stay grounded and perform their best.

I've always been somewhat skeptical whenever I hear someone say, 'Chess is a sport'. After watching this video, I'm less skeptical.