Dommaraju Gukesh has taken the world of chess by storm, becoming the youngest winner of the Candidates tournament. He will now face the reigning world champion Ding Liren of China later this year. Gukesh’s achievement is a surprise for the staunchest of his supporters, including his mother, Padma Kumari, and mentor, the legendary Viswanathan Anand, who was the first winner of the Candidates tournament in India in 2014.
“In my wildest dreams, I didn’t expect that he would become the youngest challenger even before this tournament,” Anand said in The Breakfast Club show on CNN-News18. “The only thing I would say is that before this tournament, I started to feel that he had the strength to win it if the circumstances were right. But you know, from just feeling something is possible to seeing someone do it. And, amazingly, he will play for the world title before we think he’s ready to vote.”
Candidates Chess: Gukesh Becomes Youngest Winner, Will Challenge for World Title
Gukesh accumulated nine out of 14 points here after drawing his final-round game against American Hikaru Nakamura. He became only the second Indian after Anand to win the Candidates. Needing at least a draw, Gukesh gave nothing away to Nakamura, a clear signal that the teenager was ready for the big stage and would be the next biggest star in the chess world.
On the win, Gukesh’s mother, Padma Kumari, conceded that she did not expect this ‘great result’ as Gukesh had very little time to prepare for the tournament.
“He qualified to [for the] Candidates at the last moment, so he had very little time to prepare. But he was working very hard, actually, very, very hard. I saw his confidence when he went to Canada, but we didn’t expect this great result. But this is, it was possible. And I think he showed great maturity and a very calm and composed manner in the tournament, which made him win,” she said.
So, about four and a half years ago, I was going to start this academy called the Westbridge Anand Academy. And I picked a couple of youngsters. Gukesh and Pragg are all from that group, the first group. And we were going to; I liked them because they were amazing. They were grandmasters at the age of 14. And I thought, well, that shows the potential they have for the future. But even so, I did not. I mean, we mapped out some plans, and we decided that they would get very strong very soon.
Gukesh’s Hardwork and Sincerity Made Him Achieve This: Mother
“We never asked him to do his homework or something when he was going to school. He is very responsible. He does his homework by himself. We need not push him for anything. So, I think the same worked here also. We are not pushing him for anything, and we are not forcing him for anything. He is doing his work. He takes his own responsibility, and he loves chess and it is his great passion and that’s what he’s following. And I think his dedication, hard work and sincerity made him achieve this,” added his mother.
Make Sure That Gukesh is Ready for the Biggest Test: Anand
Having mentored Gukesh from a young age, Anand said he had picked a young Gukesh for his academy, assessing his potential and went on to add that the wheels are in motion to prepare the teenager for his biggest test to date – the world title clash with Liren.
“So about four and a half years ago, I was going to start this academy called the WestBridge Anand Chess Academy (WACA) and I picked a couple of youngsters. Gukesh, [Rameshbabu] Praggnanandhaa, they are all from that group, the first group. I picked them because they were amazing. They were grandmasters at the age of 14. And I thought, well, that shows the potential they have for the future. We mapped out some plans and we decided that they would get very strong very soon,” remembered Anand.
“Because he’s the youngest challenger now, FIDE (International Chess Federation) will proceed to invite bids for the world championship between Ding Liren of China and him. And that will happen later this year. But of course, that we will make an announcement very soon, but exciting time for him. He now gets to plan his year and, you know, make sure that he is ready for that, for the biggest test yet,” added Anand.