After 12 years the title of World Chess Champion has been brought back to India by Gukesh Dommaraju. Viswanathan Anand was the first Indian to win this title in the year 2000 when the current champion Gukesh wasn’t even born.
Who is Gukesh ?
Gukesh Dommaraju aka Gukesh D was born in Chennai. Raised by his father who is a surgeon and his mother who is a microbiologist. He comes from a Telugu family where there was no association with this game.
At the age of 7 Gukesh started learning chess after having interest and practiced three days a week. His mentors and teachers all were impressed by skills and made him participate in several small tournaments from where he started getting recognition.
In 2017 when a professional Chess player Sagar Shah questioned Gukesh about what he wants to do when he grows up, he answered “ I want to become the youngest World Champion “. Finally at the age of 18 the dream of an eleven year old kid has been achieved.
When he was 16, in 2022 he became the youngest player ever to beat Magnus Carlsen who has been a five times world chess champion. However in 2023 Gukesh reached a rating of 2750 which is remarkable.
In 2024 the teen became the youngest winner of Candidates which earned him a seat against Ding Liren. He also surpassed the reign of Viswanathan Anand as top ranked Indian player.
Some memorable Achievements of Gukesh
– At the age of 9 the kid won the Asian School Chess Championship.
– At age 12 he won the World Youth Chess Championships in rapid and blitz.
– At the age of 17 he defeated Misratdin Iskandarov who is a grandmaster from Azerbaijan.
– This year he played against his idol Viswanathan Anand.
– At a freestyle chess tournament Dommaraju also defeated Magnus Carlsen, the former champion.
– Finally at the age of 18 he becomes the World number one.
When he was asked about his best moment at a post match interview on Chesscom India he said “ Today’s winning moment will be my all time best moment for me “.
Reaction of people on this Historic win
A lot of Influencers and Chess players from India and the other parts of the world have reacted on Gukesh’s win. Keeping the negativity aside let’s look at the praises and appreciations.
Chess players from India including Vidit Gujrathi, Arjun Erigaisi, Praggnanandhaa R, Harika Dronavalli and many more have congratulated the winner. International player Hikaru Nakamura via X says “ Huge congrats to Gukesh and all of India and Indians everywhere. What a stellar accomplishment! “
Indian podcaster Prakhar Gupta reacting to a post on X related to the win says “To realise your dreams with insatiable effort”. Samay Raina who is a comic and also promotes chess through streams says “ INDIA!!!!! GUKESH BECOMES THE CHESS WORLD CHAMPION”.
Finally the Prime Minister of the country also shares his felicitations and congratulates the champ for accomplishing such a milestone and bringing even more pride in the sports community of the country.
