India’s sports persons are taking the country’s name to greater heights every day. The latest to do so is the 17-year-old Dommaraju Gukesh who has taken the chess world by storm by becoming the youngest player to win the FIDE Candidates chess tournament. Now, he has entered the final of the world chess championship. Emil Sutovsky, CEO of FIDE, described Gukesh a torch bearer for the world’s young generation.
In the final Gukesh will take on Ding Liren of China and if he continues this amazing form he may even win the world title. It will be a truly amazing feat if he does so. It is a historic achievement because he has become the second Indian player in history to win the Candidates tournament after Viswanathan Anand.
Belongs to a Telugu family
Gukesh belongs to a Telugu speaking family but was born in Chennai. His father Dr. Rajnikanth is an ENT specialist and his mother, Dr Padma a microbiologist. The family is settled in Chennai where a great chess ambience exists. This helped Gukesh to hone his skills and rise to prominence.
He showed early talent in the game when he became a rated player at the tender age of seven. By 12 he had become a Grandmaster. At the time he was the second youngest to achieve a Grandmaster title after Sergey Karjakin of Russia. In 2022, the experts of the game watched in awe as the young Gukesh won a gold medal at the Chess Olympiad.
Overcame tough competition
In 2023 he qualified for the Candidates tournament where he clashed first with his Indian rivals Vidit Gujarathi and Pragnanandhaa. He drew with Vidit and then defeated the wonderfully talented Pragg as the latter is called. He went into the last round as the sole leader and then drew his match against Japanese-American Hikaru Nakamura. Although Gukesh was playing with the black pieces, he still managed to hold his 36 year old opponent to a draw and thereby emerged as the overall winner.
Considering his young age and his inexperience of playing against the world’s most famous players, Gukesh’s feat is truly remarkable. Some experts say that his lack of exposure to sophisticated training methods in his younger days may have actually helped him to develop his own style and tactics. In his matches he brought forth strategies that his rivals had not encountered earlier.
Viswanathan Anand was big help
When he got training and guidance from the legendary Viswanathan Anand his inborn skills were polished further. Gukesh said later that Anand has always been a great support in his career. The senior player was not only a role model and inspiration for Gukesh to follow but also a great help in mental and psychological training.
In September 2022, Gukesh reached an ELO rating of over 2700 for the first time, with a rating of 2726. This made him the third youngest player to pass the 2700 mark. In October 2022, Gukesh became the youngest player to defeat former world champion Magnus Carlsen.
Now the master Anand and his student Gukesh will go back to intensive preparation for the next challenge – the battle against China’s Grandmaster and reigning world champion Ding Liren. Meanwhile, the Chinese superstar has also been following Gukesh’s tactics and will be ready for the fight on the chess board against the Indian ace.
Battle royal on the cards
Ding Liren is 31 years old and therefore has had much more exposure and experience than Gukesh. In April 2023, Ding defeated Ian Nepomniachtchi of Russia to claim the throne of the world champion. Ding became the first Chinese player to hold the title and he will be determined to stay at the top. So it will be a battle royal when the spirited youngster from India clashes with the tough and hardened Chinese for the world championship in November this year. For chess lovers it will be a treat to watch and analyse.
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