D Gukesh became the second Indian to win the Candidates Chess Tournament.
17-year-old Indian Grandmaster D Gukesh (Gukesh Dommaraju) made history by winning the Candidates Chess Tournament in Toronto to become the youngest challenger to the world title.
He will face reigning world champion, China’s Ding Liren, for the crown in November.
Gukesh has accumulated nine points from a possible 14 after drawing his 14th and final match against Hikaru Nakamura on Sunday.
🇮🇳 Gukesh leaves the room after winning the 2024 edition #FIDECandidates! 🔥 🤩 pic.twitter.com/REZMIfOO9q
– International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) April 22, 2024
The Chennai native became only the second Indian, after Viswanathan Anand, to win the contestants. Five-time world champion Anand triumphed in 2014.
“Congratulations to @DGukesh for becoming the youngest challenger. The @WacaChess family is so proud of what you have done. I am personally very proud of the way you played and handled difficult situations. Enjoy the moment,” Anand posted on “X”.
Caruana and Nepomniachtchi end up reluctantly shaking hands and are greeted with applause at the end of the match.
It’s a draw and Gukesh wins the #FIDECandidates! pic.twitter.com/ZfU3ktTyO0
– chess24 (@chess24com) April 22, 2024
With three grandmasters vying for first place, Gukesh needed to secure at least a draw to maintain his chances. The confrontation between Ian Nepomniachtchi and Fabiano Caruana then had to end in a draw. Had he not gone this route, the tournament would have been a tiebreaker. Fortunately for the Indian, things went perfectly.
Gukesh has been making waves for a while now. At the age of 12, he became the third young person to win the title of Grand Master. Last year, he won a silver medal at the Asian Games in Hangzhou.
How much money did D Gukesh win for the Candidates Chess Tournament?
By winning the 2024 Candidates Chess Tournament, D Gukesh pocketed €48,000 (~Rs 42.6 lakhs). He further accumulated €3,500 for every half-point scored. Since he finished with nine points, that’s an extra €63,000 (~Rs 56 lakhs). In total, he won €111,000 (~Rs 98 lakhs).
His closest competitors, Nakamura, Nepomniachtchi, Caruana, all won €79,500 (~Rs 70.67 lakhs). R Praggnanandhaa and Vidit Gujrathi, who scored seven and six points to finish fifth and sixth respectively, pocketed €49,000 (~Rs 43.55 lakhs) and €42,000 (~Rs 37.32 lakhs).
