I should not be compared with Viswanathan Anand sir: Indian chess grandmaster D Gukesh

Gukesh, who is 17 years old, recently overtook Anand to become the top-ranked player in India since July 1986, in the FIDE rating list

Chennai: India’s Grandmaster D Gukesh, who achieved a milestone by surpassing chess legend Viswanathan Anand to become India’s Number one player, said that he should note compared with former five-time World Chess Champion by any means.

Gukesh, who is 17 years old, recently overtook Anand to become the top-ranked player in India since July 1986, in the FIDE rating list.

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The 17-year-old prodigy jumped to eighth position with 2758 points, he gained seven spots up in the list. While Anand is standing at number nine in the recent rankings.

“The expectations are always there so I’m used to it. Holding India’s No. 1 ranking is a really special thing for me. But by no means i should be compared to Vishi sir. He is a five-time world champion,” Gukesh told ANI. “My plan is to always improve my game as much as I can. I will be playing a few tournaments,” he added.

Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa and D Gukesh, two of India’s top young grandmasters from Chennai, were facilitated by their school where the two prodigies studied on Monday.

At his school, Praggnanadhaa was given a warm welcome. He was pictured sitting atop a chariot as the backdrop felicitation was accompanied by drumbeats.

Eighteen-year-old Praggnanandhaa bagged silver medal at the World Cup held in Baku, Azerbaijan, after suffering a defeat to Magnus Carlsen in the final.

Udhayanidhi Stalin, TN Sports Minister, guaranteed Praggnanandhaa and Gukesh all the support in the future. Stalin took to X, previously known as Twitter, and wrote, “Today, we participated in the award ceremony held for the students of Velammal School, Chennai, who achieved achievements in #FIDEChessWorldChampionship and brought pride to Tamilnadu in @rpragchess, @DGukesh and #WorldSchoolChessChampionship . We awarded Rs.60 lakh as prize money to chess players including Pragnananda, India’s No. 1 chess player Gukesh who reached the finals of the World Cup Chess Tournament.

Congratulations to brother Pragnananda and brother Gukesh, who were born in a simple family and who have made Tamil Nadu stand on the world stage with their talent. May the duo’s epic journey continue – may their quest to become the world’s No. 1 chess player win. @PKSekarbabu @vishy64theking @JosephsamuelMLA @PriyarajanDMK.”