The schoolboy from Chennai who became the youngest world champion in chess history

Gukesh Dommaraju learned chess at school in Chennai at seven. At 12 he was a Grandmaster, at 17 the youngest-ever challenger for the world title — and at 18, in Singapore in December 2024, FIDE records him as the youngest undisputed World Champion in history.

By The Young Achievers2 min readSources checked 23 October 2026

✓ Verified · Age 18

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

Filed under: Sports · Tamil Nadu · Chess

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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.