All about D Gukesh : Candidates Chess Tournament Champion. I Blog By Arnav, 12, Bangalore
D Gukesh just made history as he became the youngest ever World Championship contender in Chess. So who is he? 12-year-Arnav, a chess fan from Bangalore has all the details.
All about D Gukesh : Candidates Chess Tournament Champion.
D Gukesh
You may have seen yesterday’s news. It was all about D Gukesh, the young grandmaster from India. Who is he and what did he win? I am here with all the details.
Youngest ever winner of the Candidates tournament 2024
Let me start with the basics. 17-year-old Gukesh became the youngest ever winner of the Candidates tournament 2024. It is an 8 player double-round robin chess tournament organized by FIDE, the governing body of chess. The winner plays the current Chess World Champion, Ding Liren. This match will happen by the end of this year or in 2025.
Gukesh’s win is stunning as even some of the greats of chess did not think he could win. GM Magnus Carlsen said in a Chess.com interview while predicting the candidates that, “I cannot imagine him (Gukesh) winning the Candidates. I can see him being anywhere from +2 to -5 (at the end of the tournament). I think he will certainly win at least a couple of games, but will have some fairly bad losses as well. I don’t think he will do poorly, but I don’t think he will do too well either. He’s not quite ready yet to make the leap. It’s more likely that he has a bad event.”
Well, Gukesh proved them all wrong, didn’t he?
About Gukesh
Gukesh was born on 29 May 2006 to a Telugu family in Chennai, India. He learnt how to play chess at the age of 7. His father is a surgeon and his mother is a microbiologist.
Gukesh won his first chess tournament in 2015 when he won the U9 Asian School Chess Championship. In 2017, He met his coach Vishnu Prasanna who has stayed with him since. He also won the U12 World Youth Chess Championship among multiple other U12 titles in 2018.
On 15 January 2019, at 12 years 7 months and 17 days, Gukesh became the (at the time) second youngest grandmaster.
2022 Chess Olympiad
His next major tournament was the 2022 Chess Olympiad. He got a score of 9 in 11 games and helped India-2 pass the number 1 ranked US team in the final round. This performance saw him clinch a gold medal on the first board.
Picture this, it’s October 2022 and you are playing the defending world chess champion and undisputed world number 1 in chess, Magnus Carlsen. Well, this is exactly what happened to Gukesh at the online Aimchess Rapid Chess Tournament. After a brilliant French Defence, Carlsen made a blunder and Gukesh won in 29 moves. This win was a huge turning point in his career.
After qualifying to the Candidates with an amazing 2023 season. He showed why he was there, beating many experienced players to clinch the title and become the youngest winner of the candidates.
Something that has guided Gukesh throughout his career is his determination and hard work. He always wants to improve. His coach has also said Gukesh sets a lot of goals by himself and also keeps on trying and trying even if results don’t go his way.
India’s Future
After the Candidates, one question could be foremost on everyone’s mind. “What will Indian chess look like in the future?”
Well, my answer is that with players like R Praggnanandha, R Vaishali, Arjun Erigaisi, Nihal Sarin etc, people will see Indian players doing well and more people will pick up chess in India.
Bibliography
Gukesh Wikipedia
Indian Express Live blog on the candidates
Candidates 2024 wikipedia
An interview with Gukesh’s coach (Chess.com)
The match in which Gukesh beat Magnus (Lichess.org)
—By Arnav Prasanna
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4 Responses
Very well written Arnav. You have covered unknown facts hitherto about Gukesh. His win is a proud landmark to Indian chess world.
Well written Arnav. It seems 10 years ago Gukesh saw the Magnason-Anand match as a 7 year old spectator at Hyatt Regency, Chennai. Who would have thought Gukesh would reach such a high level one day. Well done Arnav
Excellent write up and you have all the details on your finger tips. At this young age he got the championship and you are not less. At this young age you are able to analyse and give a great review. Keep it up.
Very nicely presented. Congratulations and wishes. Keep writing.