Gukesh Dommaraju, often known as Gukesh D, is a teenage Indian chess prodigy who made history by being the youngest player to win the men’s Candidates Tournament in Toronto, Canada. With this victory, the 17-year-old grandmaster will have a chance to overthrow China’s Ding Liren, the current world champion, at the 2024 World Chess Championship later this year.
The young player admitted after his victory: “I was completely emotional but after the game I’m feeling quite good.”
Will he be the youngest world champion?
The International Chess Federation (FIDE) has Gukesh ranked 16th in the world. He won the title with a clean draw against world number three, five-time US chess champion Hikaru Nakamura, who is more than twice his age. Gukesh will take on Ding, a 31-year-old Chinese superstar who won the 2023 World Championship. If the Indian youngster defeats Ding, who has previously suffered with weak plays, he will surpass Garry Kasparov’s record of being the youngest world champion at the age of 22.
“I don’t really care about [being] the youngest and all these records, but it’s a nice thing to say,” Gukesh declared.
He added: “I’m very excited to play in the world championship and really looking forward to all the preparations.”
After the renowned Indian player Viswanathan “Vishy” Anand, Gukesh is the second Indian to compete in a world championship. With his exceptional plays, Gukesh has now become the top-ranked player in India, surpassing five-time world champion Anand, who had been the nation’s best player for almost 40 years.
Source: CNN
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