How India’s Gukesh Dommaraju became a chess king in a cricket-mad world | Stories to Explain
Indian chess player Gukesh Dommaraju has become the youngest world chess champion after defeating defending champion Ding Liren of China.
Gukesh’s win on Thursday came in the final match of the 14-match World Chess Championship in Singapore. The otherwise cricket-mad India is delighted with the 18-year-old’s victory.
Here’s more about Gukesh, and how he won the world title:
Who is Gukesh?
Gukesh hails from Chennai, the capital of the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. He studied at Chennai’s Velammal Nexus School.
He started playing chess at the age of seven, said Gukesh in an interview uploaded in 2019 by the Gibraltar International Chess Festival.
“Chess is complicated, so I love it,” Gukesh said in the video. “I want to be a world champion.”
At the age of 12, Gukesh had become a grandmother – the highest title a chess player can achieve – making her the third youngest grandmother in history and the youngest from India.
Gukesh sees beauty and philosophy in pawns, bishops and boards. A YouTube video uploaded by chess newsletter ChessBase India shows the shelves of his bedroom in his Chennai apartment stacked with chess trophies and books, such as Under the Surface by Jan Markos and Practical Chess Beauty by Yochanan Afek.
Chennai is known as the chess capital of India. Of the 85 grandmasters of chess in India, 31 are from Tamil Nadu. The country is even home to a temple dedicated to the game
Are you the youngest chess champion in the world?
Yes.
Before Gukesh, Russian legend Garry Kasparov was the youngest ever world champion at the age of 22 in 1985.
How did Gukesh succeed?
Gukesh qualified for the tournament in April by winning the International Chess Federation (FIDE) Men’s Championship. He was the youngest winner of the Candidates tournament.
He was competing against seven others at the event in April in Toronto, Canada. The winner of the double round-robin tournament continues to challenge the defending world champion.
Ding, 32, became the world champion in 2023. Since November 25, Gukesh and Ding have faced more than 14 tough matches.
In chess, a player wins one point for a win and half a point for a draw.
Ding took the lead by winning the first game. The second round ended in a draw.
Gukesh won the third game, tying things up with Ding at 1.5 apiece. They are often tied for many games, drawing each of them.
In game 11, Gukesh, playing with white, had the lead after Ding made a mistake. But Ding bounced back by winning the 12th game, leveling the field again. The 13th game ended in a draw.
Time to win
Gukesh played with black in the 14th and final game. Halfway through, it seemed close. But Ding made the mistake of removing his last powerful piece, his rook, from a solid position. Ding’s mistake surprised Gukesh, he looked closely at the board and calculated the next moves.
After realizing his mistake, Ding appeared disappointed and resigned three moves later, conceding the world title to Gukesh.
“It took me a while to realize that I was wrong. … I think I played my best tournament of the year.
“I could be better, but given yesterday’s luck, it’s a good result to lose in the end. I have no regrets,” said Ding in a press conference after the match, adding that he will continue to play chess.
When Gukesh saw that he had won, he burst into tears. Speaking to reporters after the match, Gukesh said that at first he did not see Ding’s mistake but when he did: “It was probably the best moment of my life.”
Gukesh said Ding “fought like a true champion”.
Who are the first 17 champions?
- Wilhelm Steinitz: Born in Prague, Steinitz was the first official world champion, taking the title in 1886 and holding it for eight years in four tournaments.
- Emanuel Lasker: Born in Prussia in what is now Poland, Lasker won the title in 1894 and held it over six tournaments.
- Jose Raul Capablanca: From Cuba, Capablanca won the title in 1921.
- Alexander Alekhine: A Russian who obtained French citizenship win the article first in 1927 and three times thereafter.
- Max Euwe: Dutch mathematician uwon the subject in 1935.
- Mikhail Botvinnik: Russian win the title five times, first in 1948.
- Vasily Smyslov: The Russian became world champion in 1957.
- Mikhail Tal: The Latvian became world champion in 1960.
- Tigran V Petrosian: Armenian rhe was world champion from 1963 to 1969.
- Boris Spassky: The Russian became world champion in 1969.
- Bobby Fischer: American bhe became world champion in 1972.
- Anatoly Karpov: Russian hhe won the title from 1975 to 1985, winning five times.
- Garry Kasparov: Russian htitle from 1985 to 2000, he won it six times.
- Vladimir Kramnik: Russian htitle from 2000 to 2007, he won it three times.
- Viswanathan Anand: India’s first grandmother and world champion won the title in 2007 and held it until 2013, winning it four times.
- Magnus Carlsen: I The Norwegian grandmother won the title in 2013 and held it until 2023.
- Ding: I The Chinese grandmother held the title of world champion for 20 months after winning it in April 2023.
What is the reaction to Gukesh’s win?
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi: Modi wrote on X on Thursday: “This is the result of his unparalleled talent, hard work and unwavering determination.
Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi: Gandhi also wrote to X: “Gukesh, you have made all India proud!”
Gukesh, you have made all of India proud! At just 18 years old, becoming the youngest World Chess Champion was an incredible achievement.
Your love and hard work remind us that with determination, anything is possible. Congratulations, hero! pic.twitter.com/wcK4YZmVB9
– Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) December 12, 2024
Anand: India’s first world champion, who coached Gukesh and several other Indian chess stars. posted on X: “A proud moment for chess, a proud moment for India… and for me, a proud personal moment.”
Congratulations! A proud moment for chess, a proud moment for India, a proud moment for the WACA, and for me, a proud personal moment. Ding played a very exciting game and showed that he is a champion.@FIDE_chess @WacaChess pic.twitter.com/o3hq26JFPf
– Viswanathan Anand (@vishy64theking) December 12, 2024
From former champion Kasparov to Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, Gukesh has received messages of congratulations on X from a variety of social figures.
The world of cricket was also not affected.
The biggest cricket team from his hometown, Chennai Super Kings, congratulated the young champion in a post on X on Thursday:
The king takes the crown! 👑
Congratulations to Gukesh, the youngest world chess champion! 🥳🙌 @DGukesh pic.twitter.com/Tyw2tK2NDO
– Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) December 12, 2024
Gukesh also received a shout out from former Indian cricket captain Sachin Tendulkar, who is widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of the sport. He wrote in the X post that Gukesh is “now guiding the next wave of Indian chess prodigies”.
In the game of 64 squares, you open a world of endless possibilities. Congratulations, @DGukeshbecoming the 18th world champion at only 18 years old! Following in Vishy’s footsteps, he is now guiding the next wave of Indian chess prodigies. 🇮🇳♟️🏆
pic.twitter.com/3kPCzGEv1d– Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) December 12, 2024
