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The 18-year-old has been at the forefront of the chess revolution that has taken the peninsular nation by storm with a crop of incredible players coming through the ranks in recent years and making it big on the world stage with their performances over the…Read More
D Gukesh. (PTI Photo)
Indian chess prodigy D Gukesh goes in search of a maiden World Chess Championship crown as he takes on Chinese GM and holder Ding Liren in a beast of 14-game series for the crown in Singapore.
The 18-year-old has been at the forefront of the chess revolution that has taken the peninsular nation by storm with a crop of incredible players coming through the ranks in recent years and making it big on the world stage with their performances over the 64 squares.
Gukesh, already the youngest player to challenge for the world title, has the opportunity to emulate legendary Indian chess wizard Viswanathan Anand, who has managed to clinch the coveted title five times, if he can go on to win the title in Sentosa.
The teenage genius, the son of a doctor and a microbiologist, clinched the U-9 crown at the Asian School Chess Championships in the year 2015, before adding the U-12 World Youth Chess Championships title three years later.
Gukesh became the second youngest player ever to complete the requirements to be termed a Grandmaster at the tender age of 12 years of age, only behind Sergey Karjakin of Russia by 17 days.
The year 2018 turned out to be fortuitous for the chess whiz as he took home as many as five gold medals at the Asian Youth Chess Championships.
Gukesh went on to clinch the individual gold medal at the 44th FIDE Olympiad in 2022 as India missed out on the team title by a whisker on home soil. The Indian prodigy also breached the coveted ELO 2700 mark the same year to become the third youngest to do so behind only China’s Wei Yi and Iranian-French player Alireza Firouzja.
Gukesh grabbed mainstream headlines with his win over Norwegian legend Magnus Carlsen the same year, becoming the youngest to beat the 33-year-old after he had clinched the championship title.
He added more sheen to his burgeoning portfolio in the year 2023 as he became the youngest to surpass the ELO 2750 rating, while also surpassing Anand in the rankings list, marking the first time in over three decades that the Indian icon was replaced as the top-ranked player from the nation.
Gukesh compounded his ever-growing status in the game as he spearheaded India to a maiden FIDE Chess Olympiad team title in 2024 with his performances that merited the individual gold. He also became the youngest winner of the Candidates event to secure his slot in the final of the championships against champion Liren.
He added an extra coat of lustre to his resume as he broke into the top-five of the world rankings for the first time ever on the back of his incredibly consistent showing throughout the year.
- Location :
Singapore, Singapore