Meet India's Gukesh D, youngest ever winner for world chess title
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Scripting history
India's 17-year-old phenomenon D Gukesh on Monday created history as he became the champion of the FIDE Candidates Chess Tournament 2024 after an exciting final round in Toronto. With his victory at the tournament, the teenager—one of the driving forces behind India's global chess revolution—became the youngest contender for the World Championship title. To win that tile, Gukesh only needed a draw in the 14th and final round against American Hikaru Nakamura. In order to accomplish this, he scored nine out of a possible 14 points.
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Introducing chess
Gukesh was born into a Telugu family on 29 May 2006 in Chennai. Gukesh's school, which is a member of the Chennai-based Velammal network of schools, introduced him to chess. Within six months of teaching the boy the game, Gukesh's first coach at the school, Mr. Bhaskar, saw the boy's potential and helped him become a FIDE-rated player. Gukesh then began to achieve success on the international scene under Vijayanand's coaching.
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Started at 7, master by 11
Gukesh saw his first major success in 2018 when he took home five medals at the Asian Youth Chess Championship. During the World Youth Championships that year, he claimed the under-12 title with a score of 10/11. At just 11 years, 9 months, and 9 days, Gukesh achieved the status of international master. Next he set about his mission to become the game's youngest grandmaster ever.
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Grandmaster at 12
Gukesh's first huge accomplishment was becoming a Grandmaster in January 2019 at the age of 12 years, 7 months, and 17 days. He narrowly missed GM Sergey Karjakin's record by 17 days. It has long been believed in the chess community that Gukesh is one of India's most gifted chess players.
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Multiple titles
An ace in the game, Gukesh is the third-youngest Grandmaster, the third-youngest player to reach a chess rating of 2700, the youngest player to reach a rating of 2750, and the youngest player to win the Candidates Tournament. He was a part of the WestBridge Anand Chess Academy (WACA) since its founding in 2020, and as of 2023, WestBridge Capital has been his exclusive sponsor.