 "D Gukesh received a star's welcome after exiting the venue in Toronto following his victory in the 2024 Candidates Chess Tournament. Image credit: X/@FIDE_chess")
D Gukesh became an overnight star and a household name across the country after becoming the youngester winner in the history the Candidates Chess Tournament on Sunday.
Gukesh held world No 3 Hikaru Nakamura to a draw but had to wait until the other high-profile showdown between world No 2 Fabiano Caruana and two-time Candidates winner Ian Nepomniachtchi ended in a draw for him to officially earn the right to challenge current world champion Ding Liren.
Also Read | Who is D Gukesh, India’s chess sensation and youngest Candidates champion
The 17-year-old thus broke Garry Kasparov’s record for the youngest Candidates winner, the Russian chess icon having achieved the feat at the age of 22 in 1984. Gukesh also became only the second Indian to win the prestigious event after the legendary Viswanathan Anand, who had won the event in 2014. The Chennai lad had also ended Anand’s 37-year reign as the top-ranked Indian chess player last year.
The victory helped catapult Gukesh into the stardom that is rarely achieved by non-cricket athletes in India. The teenager earned widespread praise on social media from experts and fans alike, with Anand “personally very proud” for the way he conducted himself throughout the tournament.
Also Read | Gukesh ‘happy and relieved’ after becoming youngest challenger to world title
Gukesh also got an idea of the star he’d become after his victory as he was mobbed by fans chanting his name while exiting The Great Hall, the venue in Toronto that hosted this year’s Candidates Tournament.
Impact Shorts
View AllWatch:
Here’s a video of the reception Gukesh received at the venue before his first interview as the Candidates champion:
Gukesh also made world No 1 Magnus Carlsen eat his own words, with the Norwegian GM having earlier stated he didn’t see the Indian winning the tournament and felt he was “not quite ready yet to make the leap” as a champion.
“Gukesh is probably a bit stronger than myself and others realised. The thing about Gukesh is that he can look really vulnerable at times. Then he’s also not very good at speed chess. That can confuse (people’s assessment about him). And he’s not as high-profile as some of the other youngsters, which is confusing. But he’s proven in this tournament that he’s very strong,” Carlsen said during a Chess24 stream after Gukesh’s victory.