Born on May 29, 2006, Gukesh learned to play chess at the age of seven. It was his school coach who recognized the chess prodigy’s potential and trained him to become a FIDE-rated player.
Grandmaster D Gukesh of India during his Round 14 match against Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura of USA at the FIDE Candidates 2024 chess tournament, in Toronto, Canada.
India’s 17-year-old Grandmaster Dommaraju Gukesh scripted history by winning the Candidates Chess Tournament in Toronto to become the youngest-ever challenger to the world title, bettering a record created by the legendary Garry Kasparov 40 years ago
He became only the second Indian after Viswanathan Anand to win the Candidates. Five-time world champion Anand’s triumph came in 2014. Now, he will take on the reigning world champion, China’s Ding Liren, for the crown later this year.
He has been making headlines since he became India’s youngest Grandmaster at 12 years, 7 months and 17 days. He achieved the feat in 2019 January.