The Indian chess prodigy Dommaraju Gukesh has made history by becoming the youngest challenger ever for the world chess title. His shot at the world championship comes after a sensational victory at the prestigious men’s Candidates chess tournament in Toronto last weekend. ‘I am so relieved and so happy’, he told reporters in his trademark calm and understated manner. The 17-year-old will play China’s Ding Liren, the reigning champion, for the world title later this year. The face-off between the two will be the latest twist in a growing geopolitical rivalry: a longstanding border dispute (that led to war in 1962) came to a head again four years ago, when Indian and Chinese troops clashed in the Himalayas. Both are nuclear nations and have ambitions to be the superpower in Asia.
Gukesh is breaking record after record. The previous youngest winner of the men’s Candidates tournament was Garry Kasparov, who was 20 when he triumphed in 1984. Gukesh was very much the underdog when he entered the Candidates: some of those he was competing with are almost twice his age.
His success marks a moment of great national pride for India. Chess has its origins in a two-player Indian board game from the 6th century. In a way, it’s coming home. Gukesh’s personal story is testament to the commitment of this new generation of Indian would-be chess superstars. It only took him five years to become a grandmaster aged 12. His father, a doctor, gave up much in his professional life so that he could devote his time to helping his son on the chess circuit. His mother, a microbiologist, became the breadwinner.
His story highlights the wider development of chess in India. Gukesh hails from the city of Chennai, in the state of Tamil Nadu. Chennai is known as India’s chess capital and is home to many of the country’s top players, such as five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand. Anand is credited for making chess popular among ordinary Indians: he became the first Indian to clinch the World Junior Chess Championship in 1987, and he was the country’s first Grandmaster in 1988. In all, India now has more than 80 internationally ranked Grandmaster.
What explains Chennai’s chess success? Well, it has benefited from state support: top-down government help has produced chess geniuses. The city has, over the years, gained a nationwide reputation as a ‘chess hub’ and attracts experienced and successful chess players, many of whom set themselves up as coaches and trainers offering their skills to talented young players.
The teenage Gukesh is just the latest to emerge from this production line, a superstar in the making and the very embodiment of the country’s growing influence on the game. It certainly has enough young talent to go on to dominate chess for decades to come.
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