How India’s Gukesh Dommaraju became the king of chess in a cricket-mad country. explainer news
Indian chess prodigy Gukesh Domraju has become the youngest ever world chess champion by defeating defending champion Ding Liren of China.
Gukesh’s victory came in the last game of the 14-game World Chess Championship in Singapore on Thursday. Otherwise, cricket crazy India is happy with the victory of the 18 year old player.
Here’s more about Gukesh and how he won the world title:
Who is Gukesh?
Gukesh comes from Chennai, the capital of the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. He studied at Velammal Nexus School, Chennai.
In an interview uploaded by the Gibraltar International Chess Festival in 2019, Gukesh said he started playing chess at the age of seven.
“Chess is very complex, that’s why I love it,” Gukesh said in the video. “I want to be world champion.”
By the age of 12, Gukesh had become a Grandmaster – the highest title achieved by a chess player – making him the third youngest Grandmaster in history and India’s youngest Grandmaster.
Gukesh sees beauty and philosophy in pawns, bishops and boards. A YouTube video uploaded by chess news publication ChessBase India shows the shelves of his room in his Chennai home filled with trophies and chess books, such as Under the Surface by Jan Marcos and Yochanan Afek’s Practical Chess Beauty.
Chennai has come to be known as the chess capital of India. Of India’s 85 chess grandmasters, 31 are from Tamil Nadu. The state also has a temple dedicated to sports
Is he the youngest world chess champion?
Yes.
Before Gukesh, Russian legend Garry Kasparov was the youngest player to become world champion at the age of 22 in 1985.
How did Gukesh win?
Gukesh qualified for the championship by winning the International Chess Federation (FIDE) Men’s Candidates Tournament in April. He was the youngest candidate to win the Candidates Tournament.
He competed against seven other contestants at the event held in Toronto, Canada in April. The winner of the double round-robin tournament challenges the defending champion for the world title.
32-year-old Ding becomes world champion in 2023. Starting on November 25, Gukesh and Ding faced off over 14 intense games.
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 and leveled the score with Ding at 1.5-1.5. They remained tied for several games, each of which ended in a draw.
In the 11th game, Gukesh, playing with white pieces, took the lead after Ding’s mistake. But Ding came back to win the 12th game and level the playing field once again. The 13th game was a draw.
victorious moment
Gukesh played black in the 14th and final game. Halfway through, a draw looked imminent. But Ding made the mistake of moving his last powerful piece, the rook, from a strong position. Ding’s mistake surprised Gukesh and he looked at the board carefully and calculated his next move.
After realizing his mistake, Ding was clearly disappointed and resigned after three moves, ceding the world champion title to Gukesh.
“It took me a while to realize that I had made a mistake. …I think I played my best tournament of the year.
“I could have been better, but considering yesterday’s luck, losing in the end is a fair result. I have no regrets,” Ding said at a press conference after the game, adding that he would continue playing chess.
When Gukesh realized that he had won, he started crying. Speaking to reporters after the game, Gukesh said that initially he did not realize Ding’s mistake, but when he did realize: “It was probably the best moment of my life.”
Gukesh said that Ding “fought like a true champion”.
Who are the first 17 champions?
- Wilhelm Steinitz: Born in Prague, Steinitz was the first official world champion, winning the title in 1886 and holding it for eight years across four championships.
- Emanuel Lasker: Born in Prussia, in what is today Poland, Lasker won the title in 1894 and held it for six championships.
- Jose Raul Capablanca: Capablanca, a Cuban, won the title in 1921.
- Alexander Alekhine: Russian who obtained French citizenshipThe first time in 1927 and the title three times thereafter.
- Max Euwe: Dutch mathematician W.On title in 1935.
- Mikhail Botvinnik: Russian WAt the title five times, the first time in 1948.
- Vasily Smyslov: Became Russian world champion in 1957.
- Mikhail Tal: The Latvian player became world champion in 1960.
- Tigran V Petrosian: Armenian RWas world champion from 1963 to 1969.
- Boris Spassky: Became Russian world champion in 1969.
- Bobby Fischer: American BBecame world champion in 1972.
- Anatoly Karpov: Russian HWon the title five times from 1975 to 1985.
- Garry Kasparov: Russian HWon the title six times from 1985 to 2000.
- Vladimir Kramnik: Russian HWon the title three times from 2000 to 2007.
- Viswanathan Anand: India’s first Grandmaster and World Champion won the title in 2007 and retained it till 2013, winning it four times.
- Magnus Carlsen: The Norwegian Grandmaster won the title in 2013 and held it until 2023.
- Ding: The Chinese Grandmaster held the World Champion title for 20 months after winning it in April 2023.
What are the reactions to Gukesh’s victory?
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi: Modi posted on Twitter on Thursday: “This is the result of his unique talent, hard work and unwavering determination.
Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi: Gandhi also posted on X: “Gukesh, you have made the whole of India proud!”
Gukesh, you have made entire India proud! Becoming the youngest World Chess Champion at the age of just 18 is a phenomenal achievement.
Your passion and hard work remind us that with determination anything is possible. Congratulations, winner! pic.twitter.com/wcK4YZmVB9
– Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) 12 December 2024
Pleasure: The first Indian World Champion, who has mentored Gukesh and many other young Indian chess stars. Posted on X: “This is a proud moment for chess, a proud moment for India… and for me, a very personal moment of pride.”
Congratulations! It’s a proud moment for chess, a proud moment for India, a proud moment for the WACA, and for me, a very personal moment of pride. Ding played a very exciting match and showed that he is a champion.@FIDE_chess @WacaChess pic.twitter.com/o3hq26JFPf
– Vishwanathan Anand (@vishy64theking) 12 December 2024
From former champion Kasparov to Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, Gukesh received congratulatory messages on X from many public figures.
The world of cricket also remained untouched by this.
The premier cricket franchise of his hometown, Chennai Super Kings, congratulated the young champion in a post on Twitter on Thursday:
The king takes the crown!
Congratulations to Gukesh, the youngest Classical Chess World Champion! @DGukesh pic.twitter.com/Tyw2tK2NDO
– Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) 12 December 2024
Gukesh also received praise from former Indian cricket captain Sachin Tendulkar, who is considered one of the greatest batsmen in the history of the game. He wrote in an ex post that Gukesh is “now guiding the next wave of Indian chess talent”.
In the game of 64 squares, you have opened up a world of infinite possibilities. Congratulations, @DGukeshOn becoming the 18th World Champion at just 18 years old! Following in the footsteps of Vishi, you are now guiding the next wave of Indian chess talent.
pic.twitter.com/3kPCzGEv1d– Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) 12 December 2024