D Gukesh creates history; 17-yer-old wins candidates chess tournament

NEW DELHI: D Gukesh, a teenager from India, achieved a historic victory in the Candidates Chess Tournament held in Canada. In a match that lasted 14 rounds, he won Candidates Chess after drawing his final round game against American Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura in the 14th round. With this, he became the youngest player to win the major tournament and has been qualified for the match to decide the world champion. Gukesh will take on reigning world campion champion Ding Liren this year.

Gukesh won the match after a draw between American Fabiano Caruana and Ian Nepomniachtchi of Russia held at the Great Hall in Toronto. Gukesh can become the youngest world champion if he can beat Ding Liren. Magnus Carlsen and Garry Kasparov became world champions at the age of 22. The opportunity to beat the current record has come.

Indian legend Viswanathan Anand congratulated Gukesh on his achievement. Gukesh is the first Indian player to win this tournament after Anand. Anand highlighted how Gukesh handled tough challenges with ease throughout the tournament. A native of Chennai, Gukesh became a Grand Master at the age of 12. Despite Nakamura's strong moves, Gukesh stood strong and won the draw. R Pragnananda and Vidit Gujarati also finished fifth in the tournament with excellent performances.