Candidates’ favourite D Gukesh returns home to a thunderous reception in Chennai

Teenager making history Following his victory in the famous Candidates Chess Tournament in Toronto, Indian Grandmaster D Gukesh became the youngest contender to the world crown. He returned to an exuberant welcome here on Thursday and was greeted by throngs of supporters.

At least an hour before Gukesh’s aircraft touched down, hundreds of pupils from his school, Velammal Vidyalaya, formed a queue to welcome the 17-year-old chess prodigy.

As his arrival time approached, a sizable general throng also began to gather, and the area around the entry gate quickly filled up.

When the boy emerged at approximately three in the morning, the joyful group surrounded him. Before long, he had garlands around his neck as the cops hurried to get him out without incident.

“This return home makes me extremely delighted; it’s a unique accomplishment. Speaking to the reporters at the airport, Gukesh stated, “I was in a good space since the beginning of the tournament. I had full confidence that I would emerge top in this tournament and luck was also on my side.”

“I’m glad to see that so many people like playing chess.Thank you to the government of Tamil Nadu. I express my gratitude to my parents, grandparents, coach, friends, family, sponsor, and school for their unwavering support and invaluable contribution to my victory in this competition,” he said.

The little victor had a broad grin on his face as soon as he saw his mother Padma, a scientist, among the audience. Other family members were also there to greet him. They greeted one another and gave one other an embrace.

Rajinikanth, Gukesh’s father, is an ENT physician who gave up his career to help his son, and the two of them traveled to Toronto for the competition.

After the legendary Viswanathan Anand, Gukesh became the first Indian to win the Candidates Tournament on Monday. The competition’s main goal is to determine who would challenge the current world champion.

He broke the record set forty years earlier by the great Garry Kasparov to become the youngest championship contender in history.

Gukesh will face China’s Ding Liren, the current world champion, in the fourth quarter of the year as a result of his victory.

Gukesh’s performance had been praised by Kasparov, who called it “the Indian earthquake in Toronto”. He had further said that the Indian showing at the Candidates signified a “tectonic shift” in the international world order of sport.

Another prodigal talent to come out of the city, R Praggnanandhaa, at eighteen, was one of the players Gukesh defeated in the Candidates match. Five Indians in total—two ladies and three men—participated in the competition.

Gukesh has been causing a stir for some time now. In January 2019, at the age of 12 years, 7 months, and 17 days, he became the youngest Grandmaster in India.

As of right now, his FIDE rating is 2743; however, in September, he achieved his best rating of 2758.

Currently at sixteenth in the FIDE Rankings, Gukesh’s highest position to far was eight, attained in September of last year.

One of his best recent efforts was winning a silver medal in the men’s team category at the Hangzhou Asian Games in the previous year.