Editorial: Top of the world

Gukesh’s win has the potential to inspire a new generation of chess lovers in a cricket-crazy country

In a cricket-crazy country, a teenage chess prodigy from Chennai, Gukesh Dommaraju, has created history by becoming the youngest-ever world chess champion, a feat that has the potential to transform the landscape of the sport and inspire a new generation of chess lovers. His extraordinary feat, achieved at the World Chess Championship in Singapore, is a moment of pride for the country. He is the first Indian to hold the title after Viswanathan Anand. The 18-year-old Grand Master capped a stunning ascent to the pinnacle of chess by dethroning China’s Ding Liren. The dramatic encounter saw him snatch a victory from a dead-drawn position in the final contest of their best-of-14-games showdown. Just when a draw seemed imminent, setting the stage for high-speed games to break the tie, Ding (32) committed a dramatic blunder. It marked the end of the three-week match that kept fans riveted across the globe. With this achievement, Gukesh shattered the earlier record held by Garry Kasparov, who was 22 when he toppled Anatoly Karpov in 1985 to become the youngest world champion. A product of the Westbridge-Anand Chess Academy, started by former world champion Viswanathan Anand, Gukesh became a Grand Master at just 12 years of age, the third-youngest to do so. Earlier this year, he won the Candidates Tournament — an eight-player tournament held to determine the challenger for the World Chess Championship — and became the youngest world championship challenger, beating seasoned professionals like Hikaru Nakamura, Ian Nepomniachtchi and Fabiano Caruana.

Born in a Telugu family in Chennai, Gukesh started playing chess at the age of seven when he saw Anand lose his world championship title against world no. 1 Magnus Carlsen in his hometown in 2013. Going into the tournament, Gukesh was the clear favourite, having just helped India win its first-ever team gold medal at the Chess Olympiad a couple of months earlier, also winning an individual gold on board one. This is the result of his unparalleled talent, hard work and unwavering determination. A single-minded pursuit of his target has always been Gukesh’s greatest forte since he was barely tall enough to reach the other end of the chessboard to make a move. He dropped out of school in Class 4 as he chased success on the board. With the 18-year-old winning the World Chess Championship, India became the only nation besides the Soviet union to produce multiple world champions. From 1946 to 2007, the game was dominated by Russians, which ended in 2007 by Viswanathan Anand, who held on to the title till 2013. Now, Gukesh’s victory signals a generational shift and cements India’s growing influence in the world of chess. There is a need for more government and private support to nurture a robust ecosystem. The surging popularity of chess as a spectator sport could ignite a new wave of enthusiasm.

---