How an Indian boy became the youngest world chess champion

Indian teenager Gukesh Dommaraju shocked the chess world on Thursday when, at just 18, he became the youngest world champion.

The Chennai-born prodigy defeated defending champion Ding Liren of China in a dramatic match in Singapore, where he entered the event as a challenger. The prize money for the FIDE World Chess Championship is US$2.5 million (£1.96 million).

It marked the pinnacle of his career to date and the greatest moment in his long list of achievements.

Gukesh became a grandmaster at the age of 12 years and 7 months, and even then he was candid about the fact that he dreamed of becoming a world champion.

In fact, he says he’s harbored such ambitions since he was seven, when he was a member of The World Between Viswanathan Anand and Magnus Carlsen in 2013 Championship game spectators.

As he admitted at the press conference after his dramatic win over Ding Junhui, he just didn’t expect it to happen so quickly.

“Throughout the race I had a few chances to get the win and a lot of the races I was really serious about being in the lead. But once I got close I got nervous and I couldn’t finish him off,” Gukesh Tell the BBC after winning.

“…and then all of a sudden…it was a sudden change and I couldn’t process all the new information so quickly.”

Gukesh is the 18th world champion since 1886 when Wilhelm Steinitz won the first championship match.

Gukesh was born in May 2006 and is the youngest player to reach this pinnacle so far.

He easily surpassed the previous record held by Garry Kasparov (born April 1963), who defeated Anatoly Karpov in Moscow in November 1985. won the championship at the age of 22.

This 14-match series ended in a tie after 13 games with two wins each. It looked like the game was going to be tied in the 14th inning.

In this case, the tiebreaker will be played under gradually shortening time control.

Dante made a mistake on step 55, and Gukesh took advantage of it to win the championship.

Over the past three years, the young player has achieved a series of extraordinary achievements, culminating in this victory.

Gukesh has won individual gold medals in the past two Olympics with the best performance. He led the Indian team to a team bronze medal in Chennai in 2022 and a gold medal in Budapest in 2024.

He also won the Candidates Tournament, which earned him the right to challenge Ding Liren.

In his early teens, Gukesh was ruled out as a potential challenger by his mentor, former world champion Viswanathan Anand (who Gukesh calls “Mr. Vichy”). He thought Gukesh simply didn’t have enough experience.

Indeed, Gukesh suffered an apparently catastrophic loss at the halfway stage, but then he rallied to win the next round and ultimately win the match.

In the championship match, Gukesh lost the first game, won the third game to equalize the score, then took the lead in the 11th game, and Ding Junhui won the 12th game to equalize the score.

Game 14 was obviously very tense, with both the championship and the prize money at stake, but the teenager controlled his nerves.

Gukesh is clearly an extraordinary talent, but this is not the romantic story of a lone ranger who shocked the world. Chennai GM is at the top of a strong chess ecosystem that is the best in the world, perhaps one of the best.

Gukesh also enjoys strong support from his parents, the Indian chess body and his school.

India has more than 85 grandmasters, many of whom are yet to reach driving age.

The Indian team has enjoyed recent success, winning the Open gold medal (where Gukesh finished first) and the Women’s gold medal at the last Olympics in Budapest.

These Grandmasters are at the top of the pyramid with over 30,000 rated players as a large number of Indians participate in officially sanctioned tournaments.

Gukesh has been a professional player since he was about 10 years old. His mentor is Viswanathan Anand, himself a five-time world champion.

He is sponsored by Westbridge Capital, which backs Westbridge Anand Chess Academy, a state-of-the-art coaching center run by Anand.

Gukesh’s parents are both doctors, his father Rajinikanth is a surgeon and his mother Padma is a microbiologist. Both men put their careers on hold to advance their sons.

“At first I just watched my family play chess at home, just as a hobby, like any other board game. But then I became interested in the game, and I happened to attend a chess camp at school… .A coach noticed that I had a good talent in this area,” Gukesh told the BBC.

Chess became an expensive sport when the child was abroad for several months each year, so his parents not only used their own income to support their son, but also asked friends to help crowdfund Gukesh’s career until his career Take off.

Importantly, he also received support from Velammal Vidyalaya School in Mogappair, which allowed him to take a sabbatical.

Gukesh also has interests besides chess – he meditates, swims and plays tennis.

His stated goal is simple – he wants to become the best chess player in the world – replacing the current number one, Magnus Carlsen.

He also hopes to have a “long senior career.” In his view, this title is just a very important step in his life journey.