 "D Gukesh: Indian teenage prodigy from Chennai set for World Chess Championship clash with Ding Liren")
D Gukesh is all set to take Indian chess by storm when he locks horns against China’s Ding Liren at the 2024 World Chess Championship held in Singapore from 25 November to 13 December. Should he beat the Chinese in the best-of-14 encounter, Gukesh will become the second world champion from India after the great Viswanathan Anand.
World No.5 Gukesh, 18, had qualified for the World Chess Championship by winning the Candidates tournament earlier this year. Excitement is building up towards the match, but who exactly is D Gukesh?
All you need to know about D Gukesh
Gukesh Dommaraju was born in Chennai on 29 May 2006. Chennai is home to several prominent Indian sportspersons, including Anand as well. Gukesh was introduced to Chess when he was only seven years old at school. That was when Gukesh built a keen interest in chess, and significantly improved his FIDE rating in the next 10 years. In 2015, Gukesh clinched the title at the Asian School Chess Championships in the Under-9 category, and that victory helped him get the title of an FIDE Master. It took just three more years for Gukesh to become an International Master, aged 11 in March 2018.
Also read | Anish Giri on D Gukesh vs Ding Liren World Championship match
The following year, on 15 January 2019, Gukesh earned the Grandmaster title at the 17th Delhi International Grandmaster Open. He achieved this at the age of 12 years, seven months and 17 days, thus becoming the second-youngest player to do so during that time. Russian Sergey Karjakin is the youngest, clinching the Grandmaster title at 12 years and seven months.
Gukesh participated in 30 tournaments and played 276 matches, travelling across 13 countries in order to achieve the Grandmaster title. He impressed across the different formats of chess including classical, blitz, rapid and team competitions.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsRead | Gukesh vs Liren showdown not a World Chess Championship battle for me: Kasparov
He clinched the Under-12 World Youth Chess Championships and also won five gold medals at the Asian Youth Chess Championships. Gukesh became a sensation in the Indian chess scene when he won gold at the 2022 Chess Olympiad in the individual category.
He scored nine points in 11 matches and guided India to the bronze medal in the event. He also achieved an ELO rating of 2700 in 2022 and became the third youngest player after Wei Yi and Alireza Firouzja to do so. Gukesh achieved an ELO rating of 2750 in August 2023. He became the youngest player to achieve that feat.
In September last year, Gukesh surged to World No. 8, surpassing Viswanathan Anand to become India’s highest-rated player. Anand had been India’s top chess player for 37 years.
Gukesh qualified for the 2024 Candidates tournament after ending the 2023 FIDE Circuit in second place. FIDE Circuit is where players play several tournaments throughout the year and is a qualification pathway for the Candidates.
Gukesh clinched a score of 9/14 at the Candidates tournament in Toronto in April 2024 and thus became the youngest-ever challenger for the title of the World Chess Championship . Much recently in September 2024, Gukesh scored nine out of 10 points at the 45th Chess Olympiad in Budapest, Hungary. He won the individual gold medal and powered his team to a historic team gold medal .
Off the board, the teen prodigy from Chennai does yoga and meditation to control his mind and sharpen his thinking.
“I started taking mental health seriously. Started doing yoga and meditating. Once I started doing that, I made sure it was done regularly, and it made a difference,” he was quoted as saying by British Chess Magazine in May.
D Gukesh vs Ding Liren head-to-head
D Gukesh and Ding Liren have played five classical matches against each other. Liren has won two, whereas the other three matches were drawn. This means Gukesh is yet to beat Liren in a classical match. Gukesh did beat Liren earlier this year in the Fischer Random format. However, that is different from the classical format which will be employed at the World Championship.
Gukesh noted a “universal” Ding ahead of the competition. “Ding is quite universal. Almost all the players at the top level have to be universal at this point. So, there are minute differences between all the players, and I’m trying my best to analyse them and use them to my advantage,” the teenager said recently.
He, however, was not ready to give any prediction. “I don’t believe in predictions and who are the favourites. I just think that whoever can show up every day as the best will win the game eventually,” he said.
 "Russian drones over Poland: Trump’s tepid reaction a wake-up call for Nato?")
 "As Russia pushes east, Ukraine faces mounting pressure to defend its heartland")
 "Why Mossad was not on board with Israel’s strike on Hamas in Qatar")
 "Turkey: Erdogan's police arrest opposition mayor Hasan Mutlu, dozens officials in corruption probe")
 "Russian drones over Poland: Trump’s tepid reaction a wake-up call for Nato?")
 "As Russia pushes east, Ukraine faces mounting pressure to defend its heartland")
 "Why Mossad was not on board with Israel’s strike on Hamas in Qatar")
 "Turkey: Erdogan's police arrest opposition mayor Hasan Mutlu, dozens officials in corruption probe")
