India, June 2 -- Elite athletes across sport often address the outside noise beyond their inner circle, those questioning voices and murmuring criticisms, as just being, well, noise. They speak of not paying any heed to them or not even hearing them.

But sometimes, they do.

In December last year, D Gukesh had become the youngest world champion in the history of chess, the toast of a country and the new global sensation of his sport. But it came with a rider, and some oft-accompanying questions: Was he indeed the best player in the world? What if Magnus Carlsen was across the table in Singapore instead of Ding Liren? Could the world champion beat the five-time holder of that crown in classical chess?

Noise, plenty of noise. Gukesh and h...