Gukesh creates history by defeating Hikaru in the 2024 FIDE Candidates Championship- Written by( Joshua Y Tigga )- Shreya Gupta(Managing News Partner, Bisjhintus News)

 

Gukesh Dommaraju is a 17-year-old Indian prodigy, and he made history as the youngest chess player to win the 2024 FIDE Candidates Championship and the first Indian since Vishwanathan Anand after beating American grandmaster Hikaru Narakumi by scoring 9 out of 14 points in his final round in the candidates' tournament. He now has all the eyes locked on him as to whether he will become the world champion or not.

 

Gukesh started as the second-youngest grandmaster in 2019, and currently, in 2024, he is the World Championship challenger. With this victory, Gukesh has secured a spot in the finals of the World Chess Championship.

 

Highlights:

 

1.  · He became a chess grandmaster at the age of 12.
2.  
3. · Before him, Garry Kasparov was the youngest, at the age of 20, to win the Candidates Championship.
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5. · He is the third-youngest grandmaster to reach the chess rating of 2747.

 

He will now face off against China’s Ding Liren, the reigning World Champion, to challenge for the World Championship later this year.

 

Ding Liren became the new world champion in 2023 after he defeated Ian Nepomniachtchi of Russia in a rapid tiebreak. He is the first Chinese player to win the World Chess Championship. He is also the first player to win this title since Magnus Carlsen in 2013 who was the undefeated World Champion till 2023.

 

Ding Liren, when asked about how he feels about Gukesh winning the candidate championship said, “He has a maturity that doesn’t match his age and a unique understanding of position. Although I have the advantage in classical chess, he is a difficult opponent to face.”

 

Conclusion:

 

At one point, chess was not as popular in India as other sports like cricket. Still, it began to gain popularity after Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu won the silver medal in the FIDE World Cup in 2023. Additionally, there has been a noticeable but significant rise in chess interest since the candidate 2024 championship had five Indian competitors: Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu, Vidit Gujrathi, Vaishali Raeshbabu, Gukesh Dommaraju, and Humpy Koneru.