At 18, Gukesh makes premonition to be youngest world champion come true

Enter D. Gukesh, who at 18 years, became the youngest ever FIDE world champion in classical chess on Thursday. As he outlasted the reigning world champion Ding Liren with a win in the 14th game to finish the epic battle which went the distance, it brought the curtains down on what had been a glorious year for Indian chess.

Indian chess fans had, for more than three-and-a-half decades, rested all their hopes on the genius of Viswanathan Anand. The Pied Piper of Indian chess, a five-time world champion, has lent a strong hand behind the chess revolution in the country, culminating in a soft-spoken but resolute world champion from Chennai, the chess city of India.

The future of Indian chess now rests in the able hands of Gukesh, Arjun Erigaisi, R. Praggnanandhaa and their ilk, who only a few months back helped the country to a 'golden double’ at the Chess Olympiad.     

The final scoreline read 7.5-6.5 in Gukesh’s favour, quite in contrast to some pre-match predictions that the contest would not go the distance. The Indian suffered a setback with a defeat in the crucial 12th game, but showed character to come back strongly to hold Diren in the 13th game and force a win in the decider. He has now broken the record of Russian chess legend Garry Kasparov, who clinched the world title at 22 by defeating Anatoly Karpov in 1985.

There is a now-viral video of Gukesh, then an 11-year-old, with almost a prophetic ring to it. Asked by IM Sagar Shah about his ambition as a chess player, he had said with a hint of a grin: “I want to become the youngest chess champion in the world.” The very next year, he became the youngest Indian GM at 12 years and has never looked back ever since.

Seven years after that premonition, Gukesh has kept his tryst with his ambitions. Speaking to Revsportz, mentor Anand said about the final game: ''There was no real opportunity for anyone to win. But at times, even when there is no real chance, you need to keep trying. That’s how sport is. You don’t just give up. It is not over till it is actually over. Gukesh kept trying and then Ding [Liren] blundered, opening things up for Gukesh. Today, he won the world championship not just because of the way he played but also because of his attitude.''

As the chess world doffed its hat to the boy who could be in line for multiple world titles, Susan Polgar, a former great, felt Gukesh had always shown the potential. “Shortly after he became a grandmaster, I saw something very special in his game, approach to chess, and demeanour. He has the important intangibles rarely seen in young players this age,” she wrote on her X handle.

“That’s why I said all the way back then that I believe he will go the furthest among the current crop of young and extremely talented Indian prodigies. Some thought I was crazy for saying that. But here we are, a few days before a possible historic moment.

‘’Gukesh still has NOT hit his peak chess potential yet. Some small tweaks in a few key areas and he can dominate for years to come. He will have an amazing future, no matter the results of this match!,” she said after the 12th game.

A strong backer of the Indian youth brigade, Polgar added: Gukesh is "always polite, conducts himself professionally, and very receptive to take in new information (a very important trait for a young player)’’.