D Gukesh is world chess champion

Indian chess prodigy Gukesh Dommaraju has become the youngest world chess champion ever after defeating defending champion Ding Liren of China  in the last game of the 14-game World Chess Championship in Singapore..

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Who is Gukesh?

Gukesh comes from Chennai, the capital of the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. He attended Chennai’s Velammal Nexus School.

Youngest World Champion

Is he the youngest world chess champion?

Yes.

Before Gukesh, Russian legend Garry Kasparov was the youngest to become world champion at the age of 22 in 1985.

 

How did Gukesh win?

Gukesh qualified for the championship in April by winning the men’s Candidates Tournament of the International Chess Federation (FIDE). He was the youngest candidate to win the Candidates Tournament. This gave him eligibility to challenge the existing world champion.

Who are the earlier 17 champions?

  1. Wilhelm Steinitz: Born in Prague, Steinitz was the first official world champion, grabbing the title in 1886 and holding it for eight years over four championships.
  2. Emanuel Lasker: Born in Prussia in what is today Poland, Lasker won the title in 1894 and held it over six championships.
  3. Jose Raul Capablanca: Hailing from Cuba, Capablanca won the title in 1921.
  4. Alexander Alekhine: The Russian who obtained French citizenship won the title first in 1927 and three times after that.
  5. Max Euwe: The Dutch mathematician won the title in 1935.
  6. Mikhail Botvinnik: The Russian won the title five times, first in 1948.
  7. Vasily Smyslov: The Russian became world champion in 1957.
  8. Mikhail Tal: The Latvian became world champion in 1960.
  9. Tigran V Petrosian: The Armenian remained world champion from 1963 to 1969.
  10. Boris Spassky: The Russian became world champion in 1969.
  11. Bobby Fischer: The American became world champion in 1972.
  12. Anatoly Karpov: The Russian held the title from 1975 to 1985, winning five times.
  13. Garry Kasparov: The Russian held the title from 1985 to 2000, winning six times.
  14. Vladimir Kramnik: The Russian held the title from 2000 to 2007, winning three times.
  15. Viswanathan Anand: The first grandmaster and world champion from India won the title in 2007 and held it until 2013, winning four times.
  16. Magnus Carlsen: The Norwegian grandmaster won the title in 2013 and held it until 2023.
  17. Ding: The Chinese grandmaster held the title of world champion for 20 months after winning it in April 2023.
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