Dommaraju Gukesh’s win will accelerate India’s chess ambitions
On December 16th throngs of fans waited outside Chennai airport to cheer Dommaraju Gukesh, the 18-year-old world chess champion, on his return to his home city. Mr Gukesh is the youngest ever person to win the title. His triumph demonstrates India’s growing ambitions in chess—and is being seen as a symbol of its growing geopolitical clout. This month Narendra Modi, the prime minister, will meet Mr Gukesh, whom he praised for inspiring “millions of young minds to dream big and pursue excellence”.
Chess champions are often young. But Mr Gukesh has established a new benchmark: he is younger than Russia’s Garry Kasparov and Norway’s Magnus Carlsen, who were both 22 when they gained the title, and Mikhail Tal and Anatoly Karpov, both from the then Soviet Union, who were 23. Mr Gukesh’s final match was striking for another reason. It was the first between two Asian competitors, with the youngster prevailing over the reigning champion, Ding Liren of China. Mr Gukesh and Mr Ding split the prize money between them, taking home $1.3m and $1.2m, respectively.
The competition, held in Singapore, was nail-biting. Mr Gukesh lost his first game against Mr Ding. He only won overall after Mr Ding blundered on the 55th move in the 14th game. Inevitably, the conclusion has drawn volumes of analysis tied not only to how the tournament was played but also how the players reflect the current state of their countries. Mr Ding’s rise coincided with the decision by Mr Carlsen not to defend his title. Mr Ding’s victory in 2023 over Russia’s Ian Nepomniachtchi came at a time when China’s economy appeared to have eclipsed Europe’s. Mr Ding’s stumble came after he had discussed facing depression and sleeplessness. It may well be seen in the context of China’s own recent struggles.
More broadly, however, Mr Gukesh’s win reflects a growing pool of chess fanatics in India. Chennai is packed with chess academies. He is the second champion from the city, following Viswanathan Anand, who became the first Indian chess grandmaster in 1988. The country now has 64 grandmasters, according to the global chess body, up from just two in 1994 and 36 in 2014. By contrast China has 48. (Russia has 256 and America 101.) On chess.com, a popular website, Indians account for the largest number of users.
From an early age, Mr Gukesh was coached by another grandmaster, Vishnu Prasanna. But his ascent has not been easy. His father stepped away from his own work as surgeon to accompany his son to global tournaments, with the family relying on his mother’s earnings as a microbiologist. When those were insufficient, friends of the family stepped in to provide support. Mr Gukesh trained for a gruelling ten to 12 hours each day.
Despite the growing popularity of chess in India, it does not yet have the same mass appeal as cricket. As a result, just a handful of participants get corporate sponsorship, Mr Gukesh among them. That may change soon, however. Indian aspirational middle-class parents already place a premium on their children achieving intellectual, not athletic, trophies. Winning at chess will probably be next. ■
Editor’s note (30th December): This piece has been updated to clarify that Mr Ding defeated Russia’s Ian Nepomniachtchi in 2023, and that Mr Carlsen chose not to defend his title.
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