Indian whizz kid will not be a 'one-hit wonder'
The Citizen|December 14, 2024
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".
Indian whizz kid will not be a 'one-hit wonder'

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 grueling 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.

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