The Rise of Gukesh Dommaraju: From Prodigy to Grandmaster

Gukesh Dommaraju scripted history by winning the World Chess Championships in Resorts World Sentosa, Singapore on 12th Dec, 2024. Gukesh became the 18th undisputed World Chess Champion and, at age 18, the youngest World Chess Champion ever.

Gukesh D is an Indian Chess Master and the youngest and reigning World Chess Champion. An 18-year-old kid from Chennai, who has been playing Chess since he was seven years old. He has always dreamt of representing India and winning on the biggest stage of chess since he was 11 years old- The WORLD CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP.

So, what is Gukesh D’s backstory and how did he rise to the top of the Chess world? Let’s find out.

Gukesh D’s Early Life in Chennai & Becoming a Chess Prodigy

Gukesh D was born in Chennai on 29th May 2006. He belongs to a middle-class family, where his father Rajinikanth is an ENT surgeon and his mother Padmavathi a microbiologist. When he started playing Chess at age 7, his parents backed him entirely in this endeavour. He soon started to win tournaments, take an interest in the game, and pursue this full-time. His parents were there for him.

After initially spending just an hour, three times a week, Gukesh realized he needed to drop out of Elementary School if he wanted to pursue this full-time. Therefore, he dropped out in the fourth standard. A few years later in 2017, his father Rajinikanth also quit his job to travel with Gukesh to Chess tournaments. Things got a bit difficult for their family financially as Gukesh’s mother had to manage it entirely. However, on the plus side, Gukesh was winning tournaments and getting better at it.

Gukesh started making waves after he registered his first big win at the Asian School Chess Championships Under-9 in 2015. In 2018, he won the World Youth Chess Championships under-12 categories, and a record 5 Gold medals at the Asian Youth Chess Championships. Gukesh was making long strides in the Chess community.

Throughout this journey, it wasn’t easy for Gukesh to manage his finances since there were no sponsors. He and his family had to rely on prize money winnings and crowd-funding to cover all his expenses, travel and otherwise. He got noticed by Viswanathan Anand as early as 2017.

Gukesh had been part of the first batch of the WestBridge Anand Chess Academy (WACA), which was founded by Anand in 2020 along with R Praggnanandhaa, and R Vaishali among others.  After toiling long and hard, Gukesh replaced Viswanathan Anand, his mentor as the No. 1 Chess player in India in August 2023.

How is the ‘Grandmaster’ Life Treating Gukesh?

In 2019, Gukesh became the then-second youngest Grandmaster in the history of the game at age 12. This was just the beginning of the long list of achievements that he registered.

He won the Gold Medal at the 44th Chess Olympiad in 2022. Shortly after his win at the Olympiad, he became the youngest player to beat Magnus Carlsen. He became the youngest player to surpass the 2750 rating in chess in August 2023. To give a context about FIDE ratings, in Dec 2024, only 32 players have a rating above 2700. It is extremely hard to achieve the ratings and more so to maintain the same over a period of time. In the same year, he defeated India’s first Grandmaster and his teacher, Vishwanathan Anand.

There is no denying that Indian chess went to a whole different level in the year 2024. In fact, this year can easily be registered as a golden year in the history of Indian chess. This year saw Gukesh’s skills at a whole different level.

The year started off with a Candidates tournament where 5 Indians made the cut in open field. Only 8 qualify for the Candidates tournament. Gukesh was one of them. He won the 2024 Candidates tournament to book his place in the World Chess Championships final against Ding Liren.

Then came the 2024 45th Chess Olympiad. India won gold in both the Men’s and Women’s categories. Grandmaster Gukesh won the individual Gold Medal on board 1 along with team Gold Medal. He became the only player to break the 3000+ performance mark in the tournament.

Gukesh likes to mold his games into complex tactical battles. He is extremely analytical and calculative, so much so that his style has been compared to former legend Anatoly Karpov’s slithering-like moves. He also performs exceptionally well under pressure, which makes him an even more fierce opponent.

During the final round of the World Chess Championship, against Ding Liren, Gukesh keeps calm and focuses on the game. Till the 13th of 14 round game, Gukesh and Ding had won 6-a-piece each with the 13th round as a draw.

The 14th round too looked like it was heading for a draw, in which case, led to the Rapid Chess tiebreaker. In the dying moments of the 14th round, Ding made a move which would be seen as the biggest blunder of his career. Gukesh did not let the opportunity pass and the world had a new champion.

Gukesh immediately bursts out in tears. In an emotional and expressive act, he hugged his father after the win, as Indian Chess fans were celebrating as loudly as possible. Gukesh later joined in on the celebration with his friends and supporters Sagar Shah, Tanya Sachdeva, and Amruta Mokal – they also run Chess Base India, a dedicated Chess YouTube channel for India.

Grandmaster Gukesh’s victory is not only an individual achievement but also a significant milestone for Indian Chess. His performance has inspired millions and brought chess again into the limelight in India.  To sum up, in the words of Garry Kasparov “Gukesh was well-prepared and the player who played the best won the match. His victory caps a phenomenal year for India.”

Here is hoping, D Gukesh keep pushing the boundaries of sports and bring glory for himself and the country.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How old is Gukesh Dommaraju?

Gukesh Dommaraju is 18 years old as of December 2024 and the youngest World Chess Champion.

2. What is Gukesh Dommaraju’ s Elo rating?

As of December 2024, Gukesh’s ELO rating is: Std. 2783 making him the 5th ranked chess player in the world.

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