17-year-old D Gukesh makes HISTORY as the youngest-ever player to win the FIDE Candidates

In a hugely proud moment for India, 17-year-old Grandmaster D Gukesh scripted history by winning the Candidates Chess Tournament becoming the youngest to do so and the youngest-ever challenger to the world title. He has broken the record created by the legendary Garry Kasparov 40 years ago.

This win came as Gukesh played out an easy draw with American Hikaru Nakamura in the 14th and final round to finish with nine out of a possible 14 points in the tournament that is held to decide the challenger to the world champion. The triumph entitles Gukesh a clash against reigning world champion Ding Liren of China in the last quarter of the year.

The Chennai-based teen bettered Kasparov's record by quite a distance as the Russian great was 22 when he qualified in 1984 to clash with compatriot Anatoly Karpov. "So relieved and so happy. I was following this crazy game (between Fabio Caruana and Ian Nepomniachtchi), and then I went for a walk with my second (Gregorz Gazevsky), I think that helped," Gukesh said after winning.

Gukesh also won a cash award of 88,500 Euros (approx Rs 78.5 lakh). The total prize fund of the Candidates was 5,00,000 Euros.

He became only the second Indian after the great Viswanathan Anand to win the prestigious tournament. 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. Enjoy the moment," Anand posted on 'X' to congratulate the youngster, who like him, also hails from Chennai.

With Gukesh ending on 9 points, all eyes were on the match between American Caruana and Russia's Nepomniachtchi. However, Caruana, Nepomniachtchi and Nakamura all ended on an identical 8.5 points for the shared second place while Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa ended fifth on seven points defeating Nijat Abasov of Azerbaijan.

Who is Gukesh?

The 17-year-old Gukesh is the second youngest participant in the Candidates in history, after Bobby Fischer. He became a Grandmaster at the age of 12 years, 7 months and 17 days in January 2019, thus becoming the second youngest GM ever. He did become the youngest player from India to become a grandmaster.

Over the years, Gukesh has strung together many firsts. He became the youngest player to surpass a rating of 2750+, and became the first Indian to overhaul the five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand as India's top-ranked player in the FIDE's published rankings after 36 years. Moreover, last year, he won a silver medal at the Hangzhou Asian Games.

Now, with his win at the Candidates, he has added one more feat to his already-impressive list of achievements.

Besides, the dates and venue for the world championship are yet to be finalised.