D Gukesh made it to international headlines after he scripted a historic feat after winning the FIDE Candidates 2024 in Canada's Toronto on Monday, April 21.
The 17-year-old became the youngest-ever chess player to be a contender for the World Championships title after defeating Hikaru Nakamura of the USA at the Candidates Chess. He managed to win nine out of 14 possible points to script a history in the world of chess.
Dommaraju Gukesh became the second Indian chess player after the legendary Viswanathan Anand to to win the Candidates. The five-time chess champion first scripted history in 2014.
Gukesh will compete for the World Championships crown when he takes on reigning champion Ding Liren of China later this year.
As soon as Gukesh was announced as the winner of the Candidates, the fans gathered outside the venue to get glimpses of the rising chess star. In a video shared by FIDE Chess on its Instagram handle, D Gukesh was seen being mobbed by the crowd who wanted to click pictures with him when he was walking out of the venue and making his way to the car. The youngster acknowledged the crowd for the support.
D Gukesh was touted as the next big thing in the world of chess when he became the youngest Grandmaster at the age of 12 and 7 months in 2019. He is currently India's youngest Grandmaster as his world record was bettered by Indian-American Abhimanyu Sharma at the age of 12 and 4 months in June 2021.
In September 2022, Gukesh dethroned legendary Viswanathan Anand as the top-ranked Indian chess player, ending Anand's reigning at the top after 37 years.
