Gukesh, a 17-year-old from Chennai, became the only second Indian, after Viswanathan Anand, to be chosen for the World Championship match. While winning his last round game over American Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura, Gukesh scored 9 of a maximum fourteen points.
D. Gukesh will compete for the World Chess Championship as the youngest contender ever. The 17-year-old from Chennai won the Candidates tournament in Toronto after drawing the final round against second seed Hikaru Nakamura of the United States.
Gukesh earned nine out of a potential 14 points after drawing his last round match against American Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura.
This victory made him the second Indian to win the Candidates Chess Tournament, following Viswanathan Anand, who did so in 2014 on his way to becoming a five-time World Champion.
Gukesh expected the last match between Russia's Ian Nepomniachtchi and top-seeded American Fabiano Caruana to conclude in a draw, which is exactly what happened. If either of these players had won, the event would have required a tiebreaker because Gukesh and the victor would have tied for first place.
Gukesh has been garnering popularity for some time, having been the third-youngest Grandmaster in chess history at the age of twelve. He earned silver at the Asian Games in Hangzhou last year.
Viswanathan Anand, the first winner of the championship, gave his remarks on X by stating, Congratulations to @DGukesh on becoming the youngest challenger. The @WacaChess family is extremely proud of what you have accomplished. I'm quite proud of how you played and handled difficult situations. Enjoy the moment.
Congratulations to for becoming the youngest challenger. The family is so proud of what you have done . I’m personally very proud of how you played and handled tough situations. Enjoy the moment
— Viswanathan Anand (@vishy64theking)Therefore, Tan Zhongyi of China won the women's tournament with nine points, 1.5 ahead of her competitors. Koneru Humpy and R. Vaishali from India tied for second place with 7.5 points, as did China's Lei Tingjie.
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