Gukesh Dommaraju, 17, becomes youngest candidate ever The man beat favorites Fabiano Caruana, Hikaru Nakamura and Ian Nepomniacki to become champion and world title challenger in the six-hour marathon final in Toronto on Sunday.
Gukesh will compete for the world championship in a 14-game series with defending champion Ding Liren of China from November 20 to December 15. World number one Magnus Carlsen of Norway relinquished his title in 2023 after 10 years of dominance.
The Chennai teenager was half a point ahead of his three opponents at the start of the 14th and final round and was tied with American world number three Nakamura. . Their match lasted 109 moves and took six hours until Caruana gave up trying to make headway in what was then a draw.
The U.S. and Russian teams have been battling for the title for the better part of a decade, and their mutual disappointments have fostered a camaraderie between them, as video of the final moments of their game shows. “I’m really sorry,” Nepomniach said. “My bad,” Caruana replied.
The final leading score was Gukesh with 9/14, Caruana, Nakamura and Nepomniachtchi all with 8.5 and Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu (India) with 7.
Gukesh’s victory was a historic achievement. So far, teenagers have had a mediocre record in the candidates’ race. Only Bobby Fischer in 1959 and Carlsen in 2006, at just 16, were younger than Gukesh, and both were also undrafted.
Garry Kasparov, the former youngest candidate winner at 20, called the result “an Indian earthquake in Toronto,” adding, “Vishy Anand “The kids are getting away with it,” he said, referring to India’s former world champion who coached Gukesh, his chess hero.
Gukesh’s career has been progressing at a rapid pace since 2019, when he became a grandmaster at just 12 years and seven months old, the third youngest grandmaster in history behind Abhimanyu Mi of the United States. Abhimanyu Mishra and Sergey Karjakin of Russia. It was then that his family decided to support him in becoming a professional footballer, despite the financial risks. He later became the youngest player ever to reach 2750 points and won the individual top plate gold medal at the 2022 Olympics. He gained candidacy by finishing at the top of the International Credit Union Tour (the league table of major tournaments).
The secret to his success is his coolness and composure under pressure. In addition to chessboards, he enjoyed outdoor sports, his favorite being tennis. He practices yoga regularly, which helps with his stamina. He said that despite his lack of experience, his youth was an advantage in such a long race: “It’s easier to concentrate at my age.”
Gukesh’s only loss in Toronto came in the sixth round to Alireza Firouzja, when he collapsed under the time pressure and his desperation was captured on video. From that moment on, however, his confidence in winning the race grew: “I was frustrated, but on the rest day I felt good and the defeat gave me motivation.”
His second master, Polish master Grzegorz Gajewski, who had collaborated with Anand for many years, said: “Anand was a brilliant man and he was the first to see this. , but Gukesh is a calm person and his ability to remain calm even in the most tense moments is the main factor that determines the game besides being a great player.
The game ended with just half a point left. Gukesh has drawn all six games against his archrivals, but crucially, he scored two colors against trailing tailback Nijat Abbasov, who drew twice to give Nebom Niach’s chances dealt a blow. Nakamura’s nemesis is Vidit Gujrathi, who twice defeated the popular anchor badly.
Two days later, the 36-year-old put all that behind him as he cruised through several races on Champions Tuesday this week in a time of 1 hour and 4 minutes. He has now won the event 71 times.
Many people believe that the World Cup, which is a knockout tournament with 150 players and three candidates in the qualifying round, and the Grand Swiss Tour, which has more than 100 players and two qualifying rounds, is too many representatives and should reduce the number of places, while the Fide Tour There should be more than one high-level event that rewards the winner. Gukesh qualified from the track and would have done the same if Caruana had not secured a spot via another route.
The upcoming world championship match between Ding and Gukesh, which will be held from November 20 to December 15, will be the first all-Asian championship match. Ding Junhui’s mediocre performance in recent months means the challenger will be on track to break Kasparov’s record as youngest world champion at four years, but there’s a caveat.
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Ding praised his opponent in an interview: “He has a maturity that does not match his age, and he has his own unique understanding of this position… He is a difficult opponent to face.” But he added: “I have an advantage in classical chess.”
Ding Junhui was referring to the only two classic games in which they faced off head-to-head, which were at the Tata Steel Wake Marina in 2023 and 2024. Both Chinese players defeated their opponents with black stones.
A few months before challenging for the world title, the candidate has another big day ahead of him – 10 players at the Grand Chess Tour Rapid and Blitz in Warsaw, Poland, from May 8 to 12 Including Gukesh and Carlson.
China’s Tan Zhongyi won the Women’s Candidates Championship and will now compete with compatriot Ju Wenjun for the World Championship. The leaders are Tan 9/14, Lei Tingjie (China), Koneru Humpy and Vaishali Rameshbabu (both India), all with 7.5.
Chen, 32, who was born on May 29, the same year and day as Gukesh, was a convincing winner, leading from start to finish and losing only once. She later revealed that she did not expect to win because competitive chess was no longer her priority. Instead, she has her own club and mentors talented students.
Her past achievements include becoming world champion in 2017, when the tournament was a knockout format. In 2018, she lost 4.5-5.5 to Ju in the championship match, who has held the title ever since and will be a rematch favorite due to her stellar performance at Wijk aan Zee earlier this year. Tan’s best win in Toronto was a classic Kings side attack.
Another notable result in the women’s candidates’ event was that of Vaishali Rameshbabu, sister of Praggnanandhaa, who finished fifth in the open event. Vasari lost four straight games between the sixth and ninth rounds before making a stunning comeback to win all of her final five fights. At the age of 22, she has the opportunity to reach the top of women’s chess. It is not an unattainable dream for the brother and sister to become world champions. A knight sacrifice on f7 set up a winning attack for Vaishali from Petrov’s stylish variation.
3917: 1 Rxc8+ Bxc8 (if Qxc8? 2 Rxh7) 2 f7+! Resign. If Qxf7 (Kxf7? 3 Rxh7+ or Rxf7? 3 Rh8+ Rf8 4 Rxf8 mate) 3 Qc2! A winning double threat with 4 Qc8 mate or 4 Q or Rxh7.
