Gukesh D, an Indian, wins the youngest Candidates competition and advances to the World Championship final

After 14 rounds of play over three weeks, Indian adolescent phenom Gukesh D—who was not many people’s favorite to win the title—became the youngest winner of the Candidates tournament, tying American Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura in a tie. Gukesh had to win the Round 14 match, but with the tie, his chances of winning rested on the result of Fabiano Caruana vs. Ian Nepomniachtchi. Reluctantly shaking hands after 109 moves, the two decided on a draw, making the 17-year-old the youngest of the candidates to win.

After Viswanathan Anand, Gukesh is now only the second Indian to make it to the World Championship final. When Gukesh challenges China’s Ding Liren for the championship later this year, he will become the first adolescent to fight for the top chess award.

Gukesh would have played the victor in the tiebreaker if Caruana or Nepomniachtchi had prevailed, but the Indian kid prevailed thanks to the draw. Prior to his last game, Gukesh said that his age would have been the subject of undue attention. He acknowledged that he lacked experience, but added that this did not carry any baggage. “There are benefits and drawbacks, to be sure, given my age and relative inexperience, but there are also certain advantages. At my age, it is simpler to stay concentrated on something like this lengthy competition. I’m not very experienced, but I’m doing my best.”

After Magnus Carlsen and Bobby Fischer, Gukesh was the third-youngest competitor in the Candidates tournament, and he was by no means among the top contenders. Gukesh faced Frenchman Alireza Firoujza and won five games, losing just one.

“Everything was talked about except for my games,” Indian International Master Divya says angrily.
The Women’s Candidates competition was won by Tan Zhongyi, 1.5 points to the good. Zhongyi faced Anna Muzychuk with a winning position, but a draw was sufficient to win the championship. She will now face Ju Wenjun in the Women’s World Championship.

In the remaining matches, Vidit Gujrathi consented to a draw with Firoujza, while R Praggnanandhaa defeated Nijat Abasov. In the women’s division, Humpy Koneru triumphed against Lei Tingjie, while R. Vaishali achieved her fifth straight victory over Kateryna Lagno.