D Gukesh reveals how a collage of 16 world chess champions as his laptop wallpaper inspired him: 'It's like any player's dream'

World chess champion D Gukesh has revealed that for several years, he has had a collage of 16 world chess champions (Before Ding Liren became world champion) as his laptop wallpaper. And while Gukesh said that joining the elite list of champions was a hug honour, he still knows that there’s a log way to go before he reaches the levels of Viswanathan Anand and Magnus Carlsen.

In December 2024, Gukesh beat the then reigning champion Ding Liren to clinch the World Chess Championship title, better the Chinese grandmaster with a 7.5-6.5 score. Gukesh became the 18th world champion. “The wallpaper on my laptop for a lot of years was the 16 world champions. I think it was before Ding became world champion,” the teenager told FIDE.

Is the 18th World Champion, 🇮🇳 Gukesh D, your wallpaper yet? #DingGukesh pic.twitter.com/miHt1oDMlT

— International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) January 9, 2025

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‘For me, it’s a huge honour’: Gukesh

“Now that I think of it, I am part of these amazing players in history. It’s like any player’s dream and for me it’s a huge honour,” said the 18-year-old, who became the youngest-ever world chess champion. Gukesh also became only the second Indian, after Viswanathan Anand, to win the World Chess Championship title.

The Chennai lad, however, knows that this is only the beginning. “I think I still have a long way to go to achieve the kind of greatness that Vishy sir or Magnus and all of these players have done,” he concluded.

Gukesh had begun his World Chess Championship campaign against Ding on a losing note , but bounced back with a draw in the second game and a win in the third. The two then played out seven consecutive draws before Gukesh won Game 11, only for Ding to return the favour in Game 12. The scores were level 6.5-6.5 going into Game 14, and while it seemed like tiebreaks were inevitable, a blunder from Ding towards the end of the final game led to Gukesh’s victory.

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What’s next for D Gukesh? 

Following his triumph, Gukesh decided to skip the 2024 FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Championships which was held in New York in late December. Gukesh will next be seen at the Tata Steel Chess 2025 tournament that will take place in Wijk aan Zee, Netherlands from 17 January to 2 February.