Gukesh gets his trophy, revels in stardom

Singapore, Dec 13 (PTI) His eyes were expectedly burning after a sleepless night but the adrenaline kept D Gukesh going as he smiled through a plethora of engagements, including signing hundreds of autographs, before finally getting his hands on the world chess championship trophy a day after becoming its youngest owner.

The 18-year-old Chennai-lad got the better of defending champion Ding Liren of China on Thursday for the historic triumph that made him the 18th overall and only the second Indian after Viswanathan Anand to win the crown that came with a whooping prize of USD 1.3 million.

The morning after began with getting a glimpse of the trophy, which he refused to touch as he wanted to wait till the closing ceremony in the evening. He finally held it after it was presented to him by FIDE (International Chess Federation) President Arkady Dvorkovich.

In his introduction, the FIDE presenters spoke of his "brilliant poise" and, "performance for the ages" that he delivered against an older and more experienced rival.

"I mean this moment, it feels like I have lived it a million times. Every morning when I woke up, this moment was the reason I woke up. To hold this trophy and this reality means more than anything else in my life," the graceful teenager said in his acceptance speech after being presented with his gold medal and the trophy that came with a USD 1.3 million reward.

Before that, he sat down to meet and greet a seemingly never-ending stream of fans, both the young and old, even toddlers.

Those who lined up included not just the Indian diaspora but also local Singaporeans, carrying chess boards which became priceless memorabilia after Gukesh scribbled his name on them.

The youngster admitted that his eyes were burning due to lack of sleep but he felt great and why wouldn't he, the world was literally at his feet in just the 18th year of his existence.

"This journey has been nothing short of a dream. There have been many ups and down, many challenges, but I wouldn't change a single thing that has happened and it has been beautiful because of the kind of people I have had with me," he said in the FIDE closing ceremony.

He reiterated his gratitude towards his opponent for challenging him, his parents for being there for him, his team, the host country, the many new fans he acquired over the course of past three weeks and the almighty.

"When I couldn't see the solution, God was the only one who could pull me through and show me the way," he said.

In between, he had another round of media engagements despite the elaborate press conference on Thursday.

"18th @ 18," he posted on X.

The financial windfall also continued with Tamil Nadu chief minister M K Stalin announcing a cash prize of Rs five crore for the lanky teen, who is based in Chennai and was shaped by city's now famous Velammal Vidyalaya and the Westbridge-Anand Chess Academy.

"The boy who would be King," said Anand in admiration of his protege, who has never missed a chance to express gratitude for the legend's contribution to his growth as a player.

At the closing ceremony, Dvorkovich congratulated Gukesh and Liren for their performance and defended the quality of competition in the event, which has been criticised by greats such as Vladimir Kramnik among others.

"Sports is about mistakes, without mistakes, there would be no goals in football. Every sportsman makes mistakes but that's what we are excited about, whether the opponent can find the way to use a mistake," he said. PTI