India’s Grandmaster Gukesh D made history on Monday as he became the youngest player in the world to win the FIDE Candidates Chess Tournament 2024 champion. The 17-year-old, who has qualified for the world championship final, courtesy of the win, is already eager to take on China’s Ding Liren in the final. In an exclusive chat with NDTV, Gukesh gave insights into the mental battle he had to fight as he looked to win the Candidates tournament and script history for his country.
“From the start, I knew this was going to be a high-pressure event. It is one of the most challenging events in chess. Throughout the event I handled the pressure well, remained in good spirits,” Gukesh told NDTV.
When asked about the feeling of winning the event and progressing to the World Championship final, the teenager said: “It means a lot to me. I’ve always dreamed of winning the world championship. This was a huge step towards achieving that dream.”
Chess in India has come a long way in the last two years and Gukesh is hopeful of seeing this trend continuing for the years to come.
“Chess in India has become very popular, in the last couple of years. I all started from Vishy (Viswanathan Anand) sir. He is the one who started the chess boom in India. In recent years, after the pandemic, the general interest in chess has risen. It’s a great time for chess in India. I hope this period of chess sustains itself. There are a lot of chess enthusiasts,” he said.
On the World Championship final, Gukesh said it was always a dream for him to win the title, and he is keen to take on the reigning champion Ding.
“First of all, I am very eager to play. Ling is a strong player. I’ll be giving my absolute best. I’ll try to play good chess throughout the match and give my best. Hopefully it things will end in my favour,” the 17-year-old asserted.
Gukesh is also only the second Indian player to win the Candidates Tournament, after Viswanathan Anand whose triumph had come in 2014.
