Achieving the pinnacle of any sport is a monumental feat, requiring immense skill, dedication and mental fortitude. But to do it at the tender age of 18, in a game as complex as chess, while being constantly underestimated? That’s the stuff of legends. And in 2024, Dommaraju Gukesh wrote himself into those history books, conquering the chess world with his trusted 16 pieces to become the youngest ever World Chess Champion.
The Making of a Prodigy
Gukesh’s meteoric rise seems almost fated in hindsight. Born in 2006, he achieved the grandmaster title at the record age of 12. By 17, he had already surpassed the legendary Viswanathan Anand as India’s top-ranked player. The chess community was abuzz with excitement about this shy, unassuming teenager who seemed to have a preternatural mastery over the 64 squares. And yet, in the illustrious crop of young Indian grandmasters, Gukesh was overshadowed by his flashier, more vocal peers like Praggnanandhaa and Arjun Erigaisi.
Silencing the Doubters
Despite his prodigious achievements, Gukesh entered the 2024 Candidates Tournament as a relative unknown, barely scraping through the qualification. Even the reigning world champion Magnus Carlsen wrote him off, famously remarking:
I cannot imagine him winning. It’s more likely he’ll have a bad event rather than a good event.
Magnus Carlsen
But Gukesh, armed with his 16 chess pieces and characteristic stoicism, made the world eat their words. With some scintillating play and strategic cunning beyond his years, he clinched the Candidates Tournament, becoming the youngest winner ever. The road to the World Championship was paved.
Scaling the Olympiad
His next big test was the 2024 Chess Olympiad. As the newly minted Candidates winner, Gukesh was handed the pressure cooker role of Board 1. Once again, the critics swarmed. Surely the likes of Erigaisi or Praggnanandhaa, with their wealth of experience against elite opposition, were better suited?
Gukesh quelled the doubters in emphatic fashion. He produced a monstrous 3000+ rating performance, tearing through the opposition as India romped to team gold. His 16 pieces were like an extension of his mind, conducting a symphony of destruction on Board 1.
The Final Ascent
The World Championship match against Ding Liren was the final frontier. The chess world questioned the legitimacy of a battle between the World No. 21 and World No. 5. Where was the intuition, the artistry, that defined modern chess? Surely Carlsen’s abdication had left the crown without a worthy head.
In trademark style, Gukesh made the world question their preconceptions with his play. His pieces danced to his mind’s tune, probing and prodding at Ding’s defenses in a supreme show of calculated aggression. Off the board, his composure and maturity belied his age. After a loss in Game 1, his response was one for the ages.
The pivotal Game 14 will be etched in chess folklore. In a drawish position, Gukesh summoned his famed deep calculation and unshakable intuition. He played on in a position that everyone from engines to experts had declared dead equal. But he had seen something. Sensed a chink in Ding’s mental armor. With implacable equanimity, Gukesh posed question after question until the unthinkable happened – Ding cracked.
And just like that, on November 30, 2024, Dommaraju Gukesh was crowned the new King. The youngest ever, at 18 years and 7 months. His 16 pieces had conquered the world. The boy who had ignored academics, conventional wisdom and financial security to pursue a childhood dream had made it come true in stunning fashion.
I don’t play for awards or recognition. I play for myself, for the love of the game. That’s what keeps me going.
D Gukesh
Perhaps that unassuming simplicity is what makes Gukesh’s story resonate so powerfully. In an era of attention-grabbing personalities and headline-seeking drama, here was a young man who blocked out the noise and let his chess do the talking. Whose greatest weapons were a monk-like calm, supreme self-belief and a mastery over 16 pieces.
Years from now, when we speak of chess in the 2020s, one name will stand tall. The boy from Chennai who took on the world with 16 pieces, and won. The legend of Dommaraju Gukesh, the 18-year-old King.
