The 17-year-old chess Grandmaster (GM) Dommaraju Gukesh from Chennai (Tamil Nadu) has won (Open category) the International Chess Federation (FIDE) Candidates 2024 held in Toronto, Canada, by defeating Hikaru Nakamura of the United States to score 9 points.
- He will now be competing with Ding Liren of China in the World Chess Championship 2024.
- FIDE Candidates 2024 was held from 3 April to 22 April 2024.
- Tan Zhongyi (China) has won the candidates 2024 (Women’s category) and will face her compatriot Ju Wenjun (China) in the Women’s World Chess Championship 2024.
About D.Gukesh:
i.Gukesh has thus become the youngest challenger in history to qualify for the World Chess Championship, breaking the record created in 1984 by the GM Garry Kasparov (Russia), when he was 22.
- Gukesh has become the second Indian after his mentor Viswanathan Anand to win the prestigious Candidate Chess Tournament, who won the title in 2014.
ii.Gukesh has been entitled as the third youngest in chess history to earn the Grandmaster title at the age of 12.
iii.He also clinched a silver medal at the Hangzhou Asian Games 2022, held in China in 2023.
Note – As of April 2024 Gukesh ranks 16 in FIDE Open category.
Top 5 Ranks of Candidates 2024:
| Rank | Men’s Category | Women’s Category |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | D. Gukesh (India) | Tan Zhongyi (China) |
| 2 | Hikaru Nakamura (USA) | Koneru Humpy (India) |
| 3 | Ian Nepomniachtchi (Russia) | Lei Tingjie (China) |
| 4 | Fabiano Caruana (USA) | R. Vaishali (India) |
| 5 | R. Praggnanandhaa (India) | Aleksandra Goryachkina (Russia) |
Prize money:
Winner’s Prize: 48,000 euros (Open) & 24,000 euros (Women)
About World Chess Championship:
i.The World Chess Championship is the most prestigious event in the world of chess which is a biennial tournament that brings together the best chess players from around the world to compete for the title of World Chess Champion.
ii.The tournament dates back to the19th century and is governed by the International Chess Federation (FIDE).
iii.The World Championship Match consists of 14 games. The player who scores 7.5 points or more wins the Match, and no further games are played. If the score after 14 games is equal, the winner is decided on a tiebreak.
