Gukesh Dommaraju he is the new world chess champion. The 18 year old Indian beat the Chinese Ding Liren, the defending champion, in the fourteenth and final match of classical time, thus breaking a balance that had lasted for two weeks (but not without twists). The Chennai native won today’s match, played in Singapore, prevailing with the black pieces and winning a rook versus bishop endgame but with an extra pawn. A pawn who, in the end, was decisive in conquering the throne. The Indian player took advantage of an error by his opponent in the 55th move to gain a decisive advantage and force the abandonment. The final score of the match, which began at the end of November, is 7.5 against 6.5.
Gukesh wrote an important page in the history of the sport by becoming the youngest chess player of all time to win the title. He is the second India player to achieve the feat and today, for all intents and purposes, collects the legacy of a sacred monster of the game like Viswanathan ‘Vishy’ Anand. The 18-year-old therefore did not miss the opportunity to continue his meteoric rise in the world of chess. His designation as a challenger, thanks to his victory in the Candidates Tournament in April 2024, had already been a surprise, but his growth never stopped as he was also the spearhead of India’s Olympic-winning campaign of September.
“It’s the best moment of my life,” he said as he began his post-match press conference. Gukesh arrived in front of the microphones unable to completely contain his emotion and telling everything that has been going through his head in recent weeks. He then wanted to pay homage to his opponent, capable of fighting to the end without ever backing down. “I have always dreamed of this moment since I started playing chess when I was 7-8 years old. Only a few people get to experience this. It’s amazing.”
A name (and a particular beginning)
The first thing to know is its name. Sometimes it is found complete. Sometimes only the form ‘Gukesh’ appears. Still more Gukesh D. The latter is the version that the 18-year-old from Chennai prefers. The second thing to know is that he learned to play chess at school at the age of seven, under the pressure of his parents, an ENT surgeon and a microbiologist. That is, at a later age than today’s great players. But he recovered quickly: six months later he already had an official FIDE score and, in the following 3 years, he was already collecting small trophies and plaques with the words “first place”.The title of GM came on January 15, 2019, at the age of 12 years, seven months and 17 days.The Chennai native became the second youngest person in history to achieve this achievement after Sergey Karjakin. He could have broken this record but was stopped, a few weeks earlier, by a draw that did not allow him to complete his journey. Looking at his palmares one is amazed. He won the World Under-12 Chess Championships and five gold medals at the Asian Youth Chess Championships, winning competitions in all formats (classical, rapid, blitz and team).
The unstoppable rise of a champion
Gukesh caught global attention in 2022 when he won individual gold at the Chess Olympiad, with a score of 9/11 and thus helping the ‘India 2’ team win the bronze. However, it was precisely his mistake that excluded that team of very young people from access to the highest steps of the podium. In the same year he surpassed 2700 Elo points, becoming the third youngest chess player to do so, after Wei Yi and Alireza Firouzja. In 2023, he reached 2750, becoming the youngest player ever to do so, and then in September, he reached eighth place in the world rankings, surpassing Viswanathan Anand as the highest-ranked Indian player,a title Anand held for over 37 years.
ArBy finishing second in the 2023 FIDE Circuit, an event characterized by a series of events that take place throughout the year, he secured a place among the 2024 Candidates. And that’s where he made his big splash. He prevailed over other more anticipated players, such as Caruana and Nepo,becoming the youngest ever challenger for the title of World Champion (and now the youngest to win it). For many, one of his secrets is Grzegorz Gajewski, his main coach. The Pole, 39 years old, helped him at the Candidates, especially in improving the aspect of nerve control and everything related to managing media pressure (which is very strong in India). In September Gukesh also took great revenge with regards to the Olympics. In Budapest, playing first board, he recorded the stratospheric score of 9/10, leading his national team to gold. And now, finally, he managed to end this incredible journey by becoming the 18th champion in the history of chess.