Teen Prodigy D Gukesh Becomes Youngest Ever Candidate for World Chess Championship

17-year-old D Gukesh created history by winning the 2024 FIDE Candidates, becoming the youngest ever player to qualify for the World Chess Championship match. The Chennai prodigy is the second Indian after Viswanathan Anand to achieve this feat.

Chennai, April 22 (HT) – It was a history-making moment on Sunday when seventeen-year-old grandmaster D Gukesh from Chennai became the youngest player to win the 2024 FIDE Candidates tournament in Toronto. He set a record in the history of the game by being the youngest player ever to reach the World Chess Championship match by conquering the tough Candidates tournament.

Gukesh is only the second Indian after the great Anand to make it to the Candidates and earn the right to challenge the world champion. It is without doubt that his achievement is more impressive given that he clinched the first-ever teen victory at the elite level of the Candidates.

"Oh my god! This is a dream come true for me. I can't even put my feelings into words right now," Gukesh said emotionally to reporters after his victory. "At the age of 17, I became the World Championship Candidate. What a milestone! I only hope I will make my country proud in the World Championship match."

The Chennai prodigy, who is soft-spoken and has a decent level of play, has been a consistent presence in the chess arena since he was a kid. At the age of 12 years and 7 months, he was awarded the title of Grandmaster, becoming the youngest GM in the world at that time, succeeding Sergey Karjakin.

In 2022, Gukesh became the fifth player to cross the 2700 Elo mark when he was still just 15 years old, an achievement that only prodigies Wei Yi and Alireza Firouzja could boast about before him. Still, in the same year, he proved to be one of the strongest players in the world by defeating the World Champion Magnus Carlsen at the age of 13, shortly after Carlsen became World No. 1.

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2023 became a milestone year with Gukesh's success in the Candidates, which he achieved by finishing second in the FIDE Grand Prix. He surpassed his role model Vishwanathan Anand to become the first India-born player in about 40 years to be rated the highest. 

The Toronto run was a fairytale for the youngster as he demonstrated nerves of steel and unmatched tenacity to finish ahead of all odds and super-elite field challengers. This win has now given India hope of producing the youngest ever Undisputed World Chess Champion by defeating the reigning champion in a multi-million-dollar chess match scheduled for later this year.