Seventeen-year-old Gukesh Dommaraju prepares for the world title clash after winning the 2024 Candidates Tournament.
India’s Gukesh Dommaraju became the youngest player to win the men’s Candidates chess tournament after a draw against Hikaru Nakamura on the final day of the double round-robin event in Toronto.
The 17-year-old grandmaster effectively claimed victory in the tournament on Sunday after American Fabiano Caruana made a mistake in the winning position against Russian Ian Nepomniachtchi and drew.
Gukesh’s draw with the black pieces put him at 9/14 with Nakamura, Nepomniachtchi and Caruana finishing at 8.5/14.
Classification | After the 14th round | #FIDECandidates
Gukesh D is the winner of FIDE Candidates with a score of 9/14. pic.twitter.com/BrB7szcpbd
— International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) April 22, 2024
With the victory, Gukesh set up a world chess title clash against defending champion Ding Liren of China.
The grandmaster from Chennai in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu called the final game “crazy” and said he was feeling “very emotional” when it ended.
“I’m feeling really good, but the journey is still halfway done,” Gukesh said after the game, referring to his qualification for championship qualification.
Gukesh, who was one of three Indian players in the eight-player Candidates tournament, will face Ding for the title later this year.
The world number 16 played down his achievement as the youngest challenger for the world title.
“I’m very happy to win and I don’t really care about records,” he told reporters.
The youngest winner of a Candidates tournament was Garry Kasparov, who was 20 years old when he won in 1984, a year before sealing the title of world champion against fellow Russian Anatoly Karpov.
Gukesh: “It was really nice to see all the people here supporting me and cheering for chess. I usually don’t try to interact much with the outside world during the tournament, but for sure, whenever they cheer during and after the games, it was really nice to see that . pic.twitter.com/C7s6JIIyto
— International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) April 22, 2024
Gukesh received widespread support from the Indian diaspora, a large number of whom attended the tournament venue.
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Gukesh on his victory.
“Gukesh’s remarkable achievement at Candidates in Toronto shows his extraordinary talent and dedication,” Modi wrote in an X post.
India is exceptionally proud of @DGukesh in becoming the youngest player to win the #FIDECandidates!
Gukesh’s remarkable achievement in Candidates in Toronto shows his extraordinary talent and dedication.
His outstanding performance and journey to the top… pic.twitter.com/pfNhhRj7W2
-Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 22, 2024
World number one Magnus Carlsen, five-time world classical chess champion, relinquished his title last year, citing a lack of motivation.
Tan Zhongyi dominated the women’s tournament and will face fellow Chinese Ju Wenjun for the world title.
This story originally appeared on Aljazeera.com read the full story
