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Chess · INDIA

Gukesh Dommaraju

Chennai chess player (born 29 May 2006, per FIDE) who learned the game at school at seven: FIDE Master 2015 (Asian Schools U-9 winner), International Master March 2018, Grandmaster 15 January 2019 at 12 years 7 months 17 days — the second-youngest in history at the time (NOT the youngest ever); Under-12 World Youth champion and five Asian Youth golds; Olympiad individual gold 2022 and third-youngest ever to cross 2700; youngest ever to cross 2750 (August 2023) and India’s top-rated player from September 2023; won the Candidates at his first attempt (Toronto, April 2024) as the youngest-ever challenger; board one 9/10 as India took its first Olympiad team gold (Budapest 2024); beat Ding Liren 7.5–6.5 in Singapore to become, in FIDE’s words, the youngest undisputed World Champion in history (12 December 2024); Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna conferred January 2025.

Born 29 May 2006 (FIDE); Grandmaster at 12, World Champion at 18

Tamil Nadu · India

Gukesh Dommaraju draped in the Indian flag, holding up his gold medal at the 45th FIDE Chess Olympiad, Budapest 2024
Gukesh Dommaraju with his gold medal at the 45th FIDE Chess Olympiad, Budapest, September 2024 — weeks before the Singapore world-title match. This photograph is from the Olympiad, not the championship match.
Image source ↗ · FIDE
Source photograph · credit and provenance below

BEHIND THE RESULT

A rise recorded by FIDE

Gukesh Dommaraju was born on 29 May 2006 in Chennai and learned chess at school when he was seven. What followed, as FIDE records it, was one of the fastest rises the game has seen. He became a FIDE Master in 2015 after winning the Under-9 section of the Asian School Chess Championships, and an International Master in March 2018, at eleven. On 15 January 2019, aged 12 years, 7 months and 17 days, he became a Grandmaster — the second-youngest in history at that time. Along the way he won the Under-12 World Youth title and five gold medals at the Asian Youth Championships.

From prodigy to contender

The step from prodigy to contender came quickly. At the 2022 Chess Olympiad he won individual gold, and that year he passed a 2700 rating, the super-grandmaster mark. In 2023 he became the youngest player ever to pass 2750 and overtook Viswanathan Anand as India’s top-rated player. In April 2024 he won the Candidates Tournament in Toronto at his first attempt, scoring 9 out of 14 — the youngest challenger for the world title there has ever been, at 17. That September, playing board one at the Budapest Olympiad, he scored 9 out of 10 as India won team gold for the first time.

A spark to explore

In December 2024, in Singapore, he faced the champion, Ding Liren of China. The match went to the last of its 14 games; Gukesh won it on 12 December to take the match 7.5–6.5. At 18, he was, in FIDE’s words, the youngest undisputed World Champion in history — and only the second Indian to hold the title, after Anand. Weeks later, in January 2025, he received the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna, India’s highest sporting honour. Gukesh’s rise was built on hundreds of tournament games played as a child — what would you be willing to practise, game after game and year after year, to become the best at it? That is a question from us, not part of his record.

Source-based story · the activities are prompts for readers.

Open the article edition →

The achievement, in context.

FIDE World Chess Champion 2024 — youngest undisputed World Champion in history (FIDE); Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna 2024

Chennai chess player (born 29 May 2006, per FIDE) who learned the game at school at seven: FIDE Master 2015 (Asian Schools U-9 winner), International Master March 2018, Grandmaster 15 January 2019 at 12 years 7 months 17 days — the second-youngest in history at the time (NOT the youngest ever); Under-12 World Youth champion and five Asian Youth golds; Olympiad individual gold 2022 and third-youngest ever to cross 2700; youngest ever to cross 2750 (August 2023) and India’s top-rated player from September 2023; won the Candidates at his first attempt (Toronto, April 2024) as the youngest-ever challenger; board one 9/10 as India took its first Olympiad team gold (Budapest 2024); beat Ding Liren 7.5–6.5 in Singapore to become, in FIDE’s words, the youngest undisputed World Champion in history (12 December 2024); Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna conferred January 2025.

2024-12-12 · Supporting source ↗

Sources you can explore.

FIDE · “From a school in Chennai to the World Championship match in Singapore” ↗Organising body biography

ESPN · match report, 12 December 2024 ↗Sports press report

PIB · Rajya Sabha congratulation to Gukesh D, 13 December 2024 ↗Official release

Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports · National Sports Awards 2024 announcement, 2 January 2025 (via UNI) ↗Official announcement

Original source ↗

Another spark to discover.

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