look news india
Dommaraju Gukesh becoming the World Chess Champion at the age of 18 is such an amazing achievement for the country that no Indian player has achieved this in any international game before. This achievement of Gukesh becomes amazing because when Vishwanathan Anand became the world champion, he was about 31 years old.
When Anand lost his title in 2013, Gukesh had just started playing chess. He became the second youngest Grand Master in 2019 at the age of 12 years and seven months. Within four years he became world champion. This is no less than a miracle. When Gukesh was not a Grand Master, he had said that he wanted to become the world champion of chess at the youngest age.
Finally, in Singapore he did so and realized his childhood dream. He not only dreamed of becoming a champion, but also worked hard to fulfill it. His parents also contributed a lot in this, who tried everything possible to fulfill their son’s dream. At one time my father, a doctor, had even left his job.
The importance of Gukesh’s success is even greater because before him no one in the world has become world chess champion at such a young age. Before him, Garry Kasparov was the youngest world chess champion. When Gary became world champion, he was 22 years and seven months old. Gukesh created history.
For this reason, he has started being counted among those players around the world who showed charisma at a young age. Gukesh’s success is similar to Neeraj Chopra’s gold medal in javelin throw at the Olympics. The point to be noted here is that javelin throw is popular in fewer countries than chess. Gukesh, who has done excellent work at a young age, will get 1.35 million dollars i.e. about Rs 11.45 crore as prize money. The total prize money of the World Championship held in Singapore was $2.5 million (Rs 21.2 crore). This huge amount shows the popularity of chess.
Although chess is not a popular game in India and especially North India, it is the second most popular game in the world after football. It is played in approximately 200 countries. Since India now has a huge success story in the form of Gukesh, the popularity of the game is more likely to increase in the country.
Success stories inspire everyone, especially children and youth. It is said that chess was invented in India. In the past, Gukesh, Arjun Erigesi, P. Harikrishna, R. Praggnanand, Vidit Gujarati etc. showed that chess is taking roots again in India. This was also confirmed when India won the gold medal in the recent Chess Olympiad.
18 year old Gukesh defeated 32 year old Chinese player and previous champion Ding Liren by a score of 7.5 to 6.5. Although he lost his first match, he managed to win the third match. After this both the Grand Masters played seven drawn matches. Then Gukesh won the 11th competition.
After this, the 12th competition was won by the Chinese Grand Master. The 13th game was again a draw. Gukesh won the title by winning the 14th game. If this bet is also a draw, the winner will be decided by tiebreaker. Gukesh became the third Grand Master to win in the best of 14 format. Before him, Ding Liren and Magnus Carlsen had also done this. The tough competition between the two Grand Masters showed that the Chinese player cannot be underestimated.
Patience and mental toughness are very important in the game of chess and Gukesh proved that he is very strong mentally at such a young age. This strength became the reason for his success. Behind his success was not only his own dedication and hard work, but also the support of his team. Even though former world champion Vishwanathan Anand is not a part of his team, he is a source of inspiration for him like other Indian chess players.
Gukesh has been a part of Vishwanathan Anand’s chess academy Westbridge and has learned many chess skills from him. Just as Anand’s success inspired players all over India to try their hand at chess, Gukesh will now have to do the same, and perhaps more effectively, because he has achieved what no one had done before. He proved his talent at an early age, but his recent journey has been full of ups and downs.
Gukesh was able to challenge Ding Liren because he had managed to win the World Chess Championship Candidates, the last chess tournament held in Toronto, when his chances looked bleak. Gukesh candidates were able to qualify for the tournament as the Super Grand Master tournament was held in Chennai in December last year. It was this tournament that helped take Gukesh to Toronto. For the success of Indian players in chess, it is also important that international chess tournaments are organized in the country.
