D Gukesh has etched his name in the annals of chess history by winning the prestigious Candidates Tournament at the tender age of 17. This victory makes him the youngest ever challenger to the world title, surpassing the record held by the legendary Garry Kasparov 40 years ago. He is only the second Indian after Vishwanathan Anand to win the Candidates. His final round game was against Hikaru Nakamura.
The 2024 Candidates Tournament, held at The Great Hall in Toronto, was a battleground for eight of the world’s top players, all vying for a chance to challenge the reigning world champion Ding Liren. Despite qualifying for the Candidates by winning the 2023 FIDE World Cup, Magnus Carlsen decided not to compete in Toronto. It was, in fact, Vishwanathan Anand’s World Championship clash against Magnus Carlsen in Chennai in 2013, which inspired Gukesh to take up the sport.
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>Gukesh’s journey to the pinnacle of chess began at the age of seven. His prodigious talent soon manifested as he clinched the U-9 Asian Schools Chess Championship in 2015. The young maestro continued to dazzle the chess world by winning the U-12 World Youth Chess Championship in 2018 and bagging five gold medals at the Asian Youth Chess Championships in the same year.
>In January 2019, Gukesh became the second youngest Grandmaster in history, a testament to his relentless pursuit of excellence. His achievements continued to accumulate as he led India to a bronze-medal finish at the 44th Chess Olympiad in 2022 and surpassed the 2700 rating points mark, becoming the third youngest to do so.
>His father, Dr Rajinikanth, gave up his career as an ear, nose and throat (ENT) surgeon to help his son realise his dream, which included travelling worldwide for various tournaments, while, his mother Padmaja Kumari, a microbiologist by profession, became the primary breadwinner, taking care of the household expenses.