Your Candidate: D Gukesh

PTI

New Delhi, April 22

For most athletes victory is usually the biggest motivator but not for history-making teen Indian Grandmaster D Gukesh, who said he got the “energy” to become the youngest Candidates chess champion thanks to his seventh-round loss to Iran’s Firouzja Alireza.

I was feeling really good from the start but after my seventh-round loss against Alireza, I was really upset. It was a painful loss. But the next day I had a rest day and was feeling my absolute best. The loss kind of provided me with the energy and motivation. D Gukesh

---

2 Gukesh became only the second Indian after the great Viswanathan Anand to win the Candidates. Five-time world champion Anand’s triumph came in 2014

Congratulations to @DGukesh for becoming the youngest challenger. The @WacaChess family is so proud of what you have done. I’m personally very proud of how you played and handled tough situations.

Viswanathan Anand

What a triumph, @DGukesh! The youngest ever to win the FIDE Candidates—at only 17! Your journey from here leads to the World Championship, and we’ll be with you at every move.

Sachin Tendulkar

The future is here. It’s today 22.04.2024 a date to remember It’s going to be Ding Liren vs Gukesh, World Chess Championship 2024. Tania Sachdev, Indian GM

The 17-year-old from Chennai, whose father is an ENT surgeon and mother a microbiologist, drew his 14th and final round game against American Hikaru Nakamura to win the prestigious tournament and become the youngest challenger for the World Championship title.

He will take on China’s Ding Liren in that match later this year. “I was feeling really good from the start but after my seventh-round loss against Alireza, I was really upset. It was a painful loss. But the next day I had a rest day and was feeling my absolute best,” Gukesh told said from Toronto. “The loss kind of provided me with the energy and motivation. After the loss I really felt that if I continue doing the right thing, and I am in the right mental state then I can really go for the wins,” he added.

Gukesh became only the second Indian after five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand to win the Candidates. In the process, he bettered a 40-year-old record by the great Garry Kasparov, who became the youngest to challenge for the world title in 1984 at the age of 22.

Reflecting on how the tournament went for him, the world’s third youngest Grandmaster said: “The focus from the beginning of the tournament was to trust the process, to be in the right mindset and play the right chess. I think throughout the tournament, I managed to do that well and consider myself fortunate enough to have the results go my way.”

On how he felt after winning the title and becoming the youngest challenger for World Championship title, Gukesh said: “It was a beautiful moment, I was so happy and relieved to have made it.”

The Indian needed the last game between Ian Nepomniachtchi of Russia and top-seeded American Fabiano Caruana to end in a draw and this is exactly how things panned out. Had any of these two players won, the tournament would have needed a tiebreak as Gukesh and the winner would have ended up in joint lead.

“I was trying to prepare for the tiebreak, I and my trainer were discussing for the tiebreak beforehand but soon after we started discussing we got to know that there will be no need for it,” he said.

Join Whatsapp Channel of The Tribune for latest updates.

#Chess