A wild Candidates Tournament ends with an Indian teenager on top, breaking records and making history.
History has been made! The wild 2024 FIDE Candidates Tournament gathered eight of the worlds' best chess Grandmasters for a spot in the World Chess Championship. Against all odds and against all expectations, the 17-year-old Indian player, Gukesh D, races ahead and successfully claims his throne. Gukesh D became the champion of Candidates Tournament with an impressive 9 points - breaking records and making history.
Gukesh D is now the youngest player to win the Candidates Tournament. He broke the record set by Garry Kasparov who won the Candidates at 20 years old back in 1983. He will also continue to carry the Indian legacy in chess, becoming the next Indian player to qualify for the World Chess Championship after the historic Viswanathan Anand.
Gukesh D delivers a shocking underdog run
Prior to the Candidates Tournament, a lot of experts, and even Magnus Carlsen himself, believed that veterans will take away the limelight. Names like Ian Nepomniachtchi, Fabiano Caruana, and Hikaru Nakamura are often in the predictions to win the Candidates. If it doesn't fall to the veterans, a lot of people had high expectations for youngsters like R Pragg and even the inconsistent Alireza Firouzja.
Take Carlsen's predictions for the Candidates - Gukesh sits in the near bottom of the tierlist. The former World Champion believes Gukesh will "perform poorly" and he "cannot imagine Gukesh winning." That was how much of an underdog Gukesh was. But he proved the masses wrong.
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World Chess Championship: Gukesh to take on Ding Liren
Gukesh is only one step away from becoming the world chess champion. And his final obstacle will be the reigning champion, Ding Liren. The Chinese GM has a solid pedigree but his performance has been visibly lackluster in the past year. It is also worth to note that there is a massive age gap between both of them, with Gukesh being 17 and Ding Liren being 31.
Following Gukesh's victory, Ding Liren comments that although he has the better classical skills, Gukesh will be a tough opponent to face.
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