Chess
How a lost title ignited a dream in young Gukesh
As a little boy, the newly crowed world champion had watched his idol losing the crown.
On Thursday, Gukesh's aspiration came to fruition. (Photo Credit: FIDE)
On Thursday, with Gukesh D being crowned the youngest World Chess Champion, the time was ripe for the world to sit back and listen to the future of world chess.
While it is no secret that the Indian teenager has long cherished a desire to win the biggest prize in world chess, very few, if not anyone, were aware of the moment when the seed was sown.
In 2013, Chennai, Gukesh’s hometown, hosted the World Chess Championship between defending champion Vishwanathan Anand and the young challenger Magnus Carlsen.
The young Norwegian went on to win 6½–3½.
Anand was dethroned and observers claimed the victory as the ushering of a new era.
Unbeknownst to most, there was a little kid that followed the proceedings of that championship rather closely.
Gukesh D, all of 7-years of age at the time, watched from the stands as his idol was outplayed.
And it was at that moment that the seeds of ambition were sowed.
YOUNGEST-EVER Classical Chess World Champion!👑
— The Bridge (@the_bridge_in) December 12, 2024
18-year-old Dommaraju Gukesh beats reigning champion Ding Liren in Game 1⃣4⃣ of the #FIDEWorldChampionship to take the title.
What a moment! 👏🇮🇳#Chess ♟️ #DingGukesh #GukeshDing pic.twitter.com/hrW3nCzYST
Speaking to the media on Thursday night after beating Ding Liren to win the World Chess Championship, Gukesh recalled how he thought playing inside the ‘glass box’ was cool.
“When I was watching the match in 2013 (Vishy-Carlsen), I was in the stands and I was looking inside the glass box and I thought it'd be so cool to be inside one day.”
He then added that watching Anand lose spurred him to harbour ambitions of winning the title one day.
“When Magnus won I thought I really want to be the one to bring back the title to India and this dream that I had like more than 10 years ago has been the single most important thing in my life so far," said Gukesh.
And on Thursday, that aspiration came to fruition, when the Indian capitalized on a Liren blunder late in Game 14 to become only the second Indian, after Anand, to become World Chess Champion.
