SINGAPORE: Newly crowned world chess king Gukesh Dommaraju said becoming a champion was a dream that was more than a decade in the making, as he underlined his ambition to strive for “greatness”.
Gukesh was just seven when he watched compatriot Viswanathan Anand lose the world chess title in November 2013 to challenger Magnus Carlsen of Norway — a match that fired up his dream to bring the crown back to India.
Eleven years later in Singapore on Thursday, the 18-year-old beat China’s Ding Liren after a gruelling tournament of 14 match days to become the youngest undisputed world chess champion.
Speaking to reporters after the match, Gukesh cited the 2013 game as a defining episode for his success.
“I was in the stands and I was looking inside the glass box (where the players were) and I thought it will be so cool to be inside one day,“ he said of the tournament in his hometown of Chennai.
“When Magnus won, I thought I really want to be the one to bring back the title to India. And this dream that I had more than 10 years ago has been the most important thing in my life so far,“ he added.
“I’ve been dreaming about… living this moment for like more than 10 years.”
And this is just the beginning, Gukesh said, underlining his plan to be more than a one-hit wonder.
He wants to stay at the top “for the longest time possible”, to ultimately attain Carlsen’s eminence as the highest rated chess player in history.
– ‘Mental toughness’ –
The teenager said he felt the jitters in the opening game in Singapore on November 25 which his more experienced opponent won.
But as the tournament wore on, he gained more confidence, winning a total three matches, including the dramatic final game, and settling for a draw in nine.
Thursday’s final match was already heading for a draw and most pundits and spectators at Singapore’s Resorts World Sentosa were resigned to the tournament extending to rapid-fire tiebreaker games on Friday, which would have favoured Ding.
The Chinese grandmaster became world champion last year in similar fashion by beating Russia’s Ian Nepomniachtchi in Kazakhstan in the quick-fire playoffs — akin to a penalty shootout in football.
But the teenager tenaciously pressed on, forcing a blunder by Ding.
Gukesh admitted that it was “humiliating” losing the first game.
“No matter how you prepare for it, you come here as an 18-year-old and you lose the first game like the way I did… It was quite tough to handle that,“ he said.
But he chanced upon his idol Anand in the lift who told him he had 13 more games to go.
“It was a nice reminder… I needed some mental toughness at that point,“ he said.
– ‘Level of greatness’ –
Former five-time world chess champion Anand was among the first to congratulate the young champion, along with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“It’s a proud moment for chess, a proud moment for India… and for me, a very personal moment of pride,“ Anand said in a post on X.
Modi described Gukesh’s feat as a “remarkable accomplishment” which he said was “the result of his unparalleled talent, hard work and unwavering determination”.
Ding resigned after making an endgame blunder, and took home $1.15 million while Gukesh got $1.35 million of the $2.5 million prize fund.
But the teenager underlined that the world title crown was just part of a bigger dream.
“Becoming world champion does not mean I’m the best player in the world,“ said Gukesh.
“Obviously there’s Magnus. So it’s also a motivating factor that… there is someone at a very, very high level and someone that will keep me doing the right things, working hard and trying to reach the level of greatness that Magnus has achieved.”
