D Gukesh's mother J Padmakumari had tears of joy in her eyes while watching her son receive the World Chess Championship Trophy at the closing ceremony. On Thursday, Gukesh became the youngest world champion after beating Ding Liren in the final game of the competition. The 18-year-old won the match 7.5-6.5 and broke the record of Garry Kasparov, who won the title back in 1985 at the age of 22.
After receiving the trophy, Gukesh passed it to his parents and the mother who was filled with pride after her son’s monumental achievement was captured kissing the trophy.
Gukesh on bringing back trophy to India
The 18-year-old revealed after his win that seeing Vishwanathan Anand lose to the sensational Magnus Carlsen in 2013 inspired him to bring the title to India.
Speaking to press after the match he said, “When Magnus won, I wanted to be the one to bring back the title to India. This dream that I had more than 10 years ago is the single-most important thing in my life. There’s nothing better than doing this for myself, my loved ones and my country,”
Only in April this year, Gukesh, then 17, had done the country proud by winning the FIDE Candidates title. Back then, observers were not sure if he could beat the 31 year old reigning World champion Liren, eight months down the line.
However, Gukesh had displayed great confidence even then. He knew he was taking on a strong and top rated player but declared that he was ready for the battle. “I am ready for the challenge,” is what he told an interviewer while acknowledging Liren was a universal player.
