Red-letter day for Indian chess: How Gukesh, inspired by Anand, conquered the world

Dommaraju Gukesh made history on Thursday (December 12), becoming the youngest-ever world chess champion in Singapore. When the World Championship Match was heading for a rapid tie-break, Gukesh’s persistence paid off in the 14th and final classical game, when Ding Liren of China made an uncharacteristic blunder to go down in a drawn position.

Gukesh clinched the match 7.5-6.5. An interesting piece of trivia was Gukesh becoming the 18th world champion at 18. He rewrote Garry Kasparov’s record (22 years) of being the youngest champion. The Chennaiite emulated his mentor Viswanathan Anand, becoming the second world champion from India. Gukesh was overwhelmed with emotions after accomplishing the ultimate feat in chess.

Also read: Gukesh crowned chess world champion: Who said what on historic feat

It was a red-letter day for Indian chess.

Taking a leaf out of Carlsen's book

Coming to the match, Gukesh was tipped as the odds-on favourite by experts to win the world title because of his incredible form and Ding having a below-par 2024, dropping a lot of rating points. Ding showed why he was a world champion, surprising one and all, winning the first game of the match in convincing fashion. The world No.5 levelled the tie, winning the third game. It was followed by seven draws with Gukesh missing wins in seventh and eighth games. The Candidates winner turned the match on its head, outwitting Ding in the 11th game to take the lead. It looked like an uphill task for Ding but the Chinese showed why he has been one of the top players for a long time, outplaying Gukesh in the next game to make it 6-6. After failing to convert a winning position in the 13th game, Gukesh took a leaf out of (world No.1) Magnus Carlsen’s book, not allowing a forced draw to his opponent, which resulted in Ding’s blunder on the 55th move (Rf2) followed by his resignation on the 58th move.

“Congratulations! It's a proud moment for chess, a proud moment for India, a proud moment for WACA, and for me, a very personal moment of pride. Ding played a very exciting match and showed the champion he is,” was how a joyous Anand summed up Gukesh sealing the world title on X (formerly Twitter).

Also read: Gukesh triumphs: Velammal Vidyalaya gets ready to welcome its most famous student

The 17th world champion Ding accepted losing his world title with grace and poise during his press conference: “I think I played my best tournament of the year. It could be better, but considering yesterday’s lucky survival, it was a fair result to lose in the end. I have no regrets.”

“Historic. Dream come true for Indian chess. Never thought someone would take Vishy's crown as an Indian so soon,’’ said GM Sundararajan Kidambi on Gukesh scaling the highest peak in chess.

“Fighting spirit, determination and optimism were his key strengths,’’ pointed out Kidambi when queried about what was the key to Gukesh winning the world title.

Inspired by Anand

An overjoyed Gukesh thanked his parents, his trainers and mental conditioning coach during his press conference after his astounding achievement.

Also read: Gukesh after becoming world champion: Happy I realised my 10-year dream

Gukesh got inspired to chess after watching Anand’s world title clash with Carlsen in Chennai (2013) when he was just seven years old. His first biggest achievement came when he became the second youngest-ever GM at that time in 2019. Confined to home for most part during the COVID-19 pandemic, he worked really hard on his chess in 2020 and 2021, which produced spectacular results in 2022. Winning an individual gold on top board, Gukesh powered India 2 to a bronze at the Chennai Chess Olympiad two years ago.

He continued making progress, qualifying for the Candidates, winning the Chennai GM event in 2023. When none of the chess experts predicted it to happen, Gukesh triumphed in the Candidates with a scintillating show this year in Toronto.

Good opening preparation, ability to find difficult moves in complex positions, excellent tactical vision, and incredible fighting spirit, are his biggest strengths.

Viva Gukesh!

Gukesh's team of seconds

Grzegorz Gajewski, Radoslaw Wojtaszek, Pentala Harikrishna, Jan-Krzysztof Duda, and Vincent Keymer were his seconds for his world title clash. They deserve a pat on the back for making Gukesh achieve his dream.

Upton's role

Paddy Upton, who was the mental conditioning coach, when India won the Cricket World Cup in 2011, played his part in Gukesh’s success. Working with Upton before and during the match benefited Gukesh without a doubt.

What you need to know about Gukesh

Name: D Gukesh

Age: 18

Country: India

Ranking: World No. 5

Rating: 2783

Best achievements: Winning world title, Candidates & Chess Olympiad with Indian team (all 2024)