Grandmaster D Gukesh of India during his Round 14 match against Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura of USA at the FIDE Candidates 2024 chess tournament, in Toronto, Canada.
Credit: PTI Photo
India's 17-year-old Grandmaster Dommaraju Gukesh scripted history by winning the Candidates Chess Tournament in Toronto to become the youngest ever challenger to the world title, bettering a record created by the legendary Garry Kasparov 40 years ago.
He became only the second Indian after Viswanathan Anand to win the Candidates. Five-time world champion Anand's triumph came in 2014.
Now, he will take on the reigning world champion, China's Ding Liren, for the crown later this year.
Born on May 29, 2006, Gukesh learned to play chess at the age of seven. It was his school coach who recognised the teen chess prodigy's potential and trained him to become a FIDE-rated player.
The 17-year-old hails from Chennai. His father is an ENT surgeon and mother, a microbiologist.
He has been making headlines since he became India's youngest Grandmaster at 12 years, 7 months and 17 days. He had achieved the feat in 2019 January.
In September 2023, Gukesh replaced the legendary Viswanathan Anand as India's top chess player after more than three decades. Prior to this, Anand has been India's No.1 since July 1986.
With his recent victory, Gukesh became the only second Indian after five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand to win the Candidates. In the process, he excelled a 40-year-old record by the great Garry Kasparov, who became the youngest to challenge for the world title in 1984 at the age of 22.
Meanwhile, people from all walks of life, including the chess community, went into a frenzy as they hailed India's D Gukesh as a potential "future world champion" after he etched his name in the history books by winning the prestigious Candidates tournament in Toronto.
(With PTI inputs)