Dommaraju Gukesh Creates History

In this cricket crazy country now and then emerges a sportsman who pushes cricketers into the shade, who is the toast of the nation for a considerable period and whose feat is among the greatest notched up by an Indian in the international arena.

Over the last 60 years, the achievements of Milkha Singh, Prakash Padukone, Viswanathan Anand, Abhinav Bindra and Neeraj Chopra have lifted the spirits of us Indians sky high and there have been sportswomen too in P. T. Usha, Mary Kom, Saina Nehwal and P. V. Sindhu.

It’s time again to celebrate another such Indian sporting feat. This time the most talked about personality is 17-year-old chess player Dommaraju Gukesh. He has created history by becoming the youngest to win the Candidates Tournament in Toronto entitling him to challenge reigning world champion Ding Liren of China later in the year.

In accomplishing the feat Gukesh has bettered a record created by the legendary Garry Kasparov 40 years ago. He bettered Kasparov by quite a distance as the Russian great was 21 when he qualified in 1984 to clash with compatriot Anatoly Karpov.

To put the enormity of his achievement in the proper perspective in the 74-year-old history since the Candidates tournament was first played at Budapest in 1950 he is the youngest champion of the much anticipated event. In 1959 Bobby Fischer at 16 was tied fifth and finished fourth at the age of 19 during the 1962 candidates.

Gukesh became the third youngest player to play in a Candidates tournament, behind Fischer and Magnus Carlsen. But then breaking records is in the Chennai-born lad’s DNA.

He became a rated player at the age of seven and became an International Master at 11. At 12 years, seven months and 17 days he was the second youngest GM ever in January 2019. He is the third youngest to reach a chess rating of 2700, the youngest to reach a chess rating of 2750, the youngest contender to compete for the world chess title.

In addition, last year Gukesh officially dislodged Anand as the top ranked Indian player for the first time in 37 years. Indeed he became only the second Indian after Anand to win the prestigious tournament. The five-time world champion Anand’s triumph had come about in 2014.

In the final round at Toronto Gukesh played out an easy draw with American Hikaru Nakamura in the 14th and final round to finish with nine out of a possible 14 points in the tournament that is held to decide the challenger to the world champion. He also won a cash award of 88,500 Euros (approx Rs 78.5 lakh). The total prize fund of the Candidates was 5,00,000 Euros.

Along with another prodigious talent R. Praggnanandhaa, Gukesh has been the torch bearer of Indian chess in the international arena in the new millennium. But while Pragg, some nine months older than Gukesh, was acknowledged as the finest Indian prospect since Anand in the last year it is the latter who has stolen a march over his colleague also born in Chennai highlighted by the silver medal he won at the Hangzhou Asian Games. Pragg also took part in the Candidates, finishing a creditable fifth out of eight competitors.

Gukesh had set his sight on the big prize pretty early. As far back as 2017 when he became the national under-11 champion he had said that his dream was to become the youngest world champion. Now that dream which might have been far-fetched seven years ago could well come true.

Going into the Candidates, Gukesh was not one of the favourites. In fact Carlsen placed him as equal sixth out of eight in his predictions. But another former world champion Susan Polgar’s observation proved to be prophetic. In her tweet after the tournament she noted “I said long before the recent success of young Indian players that Gukesh will go the furthest. He has maturity beyond his years. he has the talent, motivation, fearless mentality, strong nerves, determination and the X factor.’’

Indeed the significance of mental strength cannot be overemphasised in chess and the fact that Gukesh has it in spades is brought out by his reaction to the defeat he sustained in his seventh round game to Alireza Firouzja. It might have downed the spirits of others but not Gukesh.

As he observed :After the loss I was really upset. It was a painful loss. But then it also provided me with a kind of energy and motivation. After the loss I really felt that if I was in the right mental state, then I can really go for the wins.’’ That was Gukesh at his best – turning pain into gain.

The sensational rise of Gukesh who turns 18 next month could well be traced back to the encouragement of his parents Dr Rajnikanth who is an ear, nose and throat surgeon and his mother Padma who is a microbiologist in Chennai. Rajnikanth is a keen tennis fan and was keen for Gukesh to follow his passion. But Padma had noticed that Gukesh liked to play chess and convinced her husband to let the boy pursue his passion.

When he started playing in tournaments in India and abroad it marked the beginning of a significant shift in their lives. Rajnikanth, a busy ENT surgeon had to adjust his schedule becoming a visiting surgeon at the hospitals he previously worked full time. Recalling the days before Gukesh became a chess prodigy, Rajnikanth said, “I used to attend conferences all over India. I was a visiting surgeon in multiple hospitals.’’

Padma faced a different challenge. Gukesh, a consistent class topper, was missing school due to tournaments. To support his passion while ensuring his education wasn't compromised, the family made a bold decision. "We decided that if he does well in chess he can carry on playing and if not he will go back to school".

Velammal school, where Gukesh studied, agreed to a unique arrangement: He would attend only for exams, focusing on chess during the rest of the year. This was a gamble, a year-long trial to see if Gukesh could excel in both.

Padma stepped up further, taking on extra work when her husband and son were travelling. She clocked in overtime and covered shifts for colleagues who needed leave. Her dedication ensured the family's financial stability while Gukesh pursued his chess dreams.

“Travel was becoming very expensive as we now had to travel abroad to play games. My wife was working to not only support the family at home but also for our travel and stay abroad," Rajnikanth said. He was in Toronto to savour his son’s triumph first hand.

While Gukesh received some cash awards and support from his school, significant financial assistance remained a challenge until some time ago. But Gukesh's dedication and the unwavering support of his parents paid off. He not only excelled in his chess endeavours but also cleared his exams, proving that his academic brilliance wasn't compromised.

Right now, however, studies will not exactly be uppermost in Gukesh’s mind as he prepares for his biggest exam of all.