All posts tagged: Youngest World Chess Champion

‘You come at king…’: Magnus Carlsen gets revenge over Gukesh after year-long wait | Chess News

‘You come at king…’: Magnus Carlsen gets revenge over Gukesh after year-long wait | Chess News

Published by Webster

On his last day as a teenager, world champion D Gukesh was reminded that there is still some growing up for him to do to stake a claim to being the best in the business. A day before he turned 20, the world champion from India picked up a fight on the board against world no 1 Magnus Carlsen. And lost. “Gukesh sometimes plays a bit too ambitiously. He wanted to prove a serious advantage today, which I’m not sure there was,” Carlsen said about his quarry later. “Eventually, he played himself into some trouble. And I took over more and more.” Ever since the world no 1 from Norway smashed his fist on the table almost a year ago in reaction to losing at the same tournament to the Indian, the world had been eagerly awaiting another Carlsen-Gukesh battle. Thursday’s game — the first of two installments between the two at Norway Chess in Oslo this year — did not disappoint. Seats at the Deichman Bjørvika, the stunning public library in Oslo that acts …

Fabiano Caruana on Gukesh’s form: ‘It’s concerning, but he’s still a top player regardless of few bad months’ | Chess News

Fabiano Caruana on Gukesh’s form: ‘It’s concerning, but he’s still a top player regardless of few bad months’ | Chess News

Published by Webster

2 min readMar 4, 2026 08:16 PM IST World champion D Gukesh has experienced a slump in his form in 13 months since becoming the youngest world champion in chess history. At the year’s second classical event in Prague, Gukesh is currently winless after six games, losing three games and drawing the remaining three. Some of those defeats have come after uncharacteristic blunders while Gukesh has repeatedly found himself in time trouble in games. Fabiano Caruana, who will be competing at the Candidates tournament in Cyprus later this month to earn a shot at challenging Gukesh in the World Chess Championship later in the year, believes that the 19-year-old’s slump in results is concerning. But he said he still would not read too much into the results for either Gukesh or the other two Indians (Praggnanandhaa and Arjun Erigaisi). “In particular for Gukesh, Praggnanandhaa, and Arjun, I think they’ll be top players for many years or decades to come, so I don’t read too much into it. For Gukesh, it’s, of course, concerning because he …

Fabiano Caruana on Gukesh’s form: ‘It’s concerning, but he’s still a top player regardless of few bad months’ | Chess News

In year of woe, Gukesh suffers another defeat, this time featuring a rare slip up with clock | Chess News

Published by Webster

World champion D Gukesh looked perplexed. On a day where nothing had gone right for him for the better part of the past three hours, this was something that he could not quite explain. Across the board, his opponent, Dutch grandmaster Jorden Van Foreest, was equally confused by what had transpired. It was not what was playing out on the chess board that had puzzled them. It was the clock, which seemed to be conspiring against Gukesh by continuing to count down even though he had tapped on it after making his move in their third round clash at the Prague International Chess Festival. Ever since he became the world champion 13 months ago, plenty has gone wrong for the youngest man on the throne in chess history. But this was a rare blunder of sorts: Gukesh made his 36th move ( 36… a4) and then grazed the clock with his fingers to focus on untangling himself from the knots he had tied himself into on the board. It was only about 45 seconds later …

Chess: D Gukesh’s coach Grzegorz Gajewski on what the world champion will focus on in 2026 after a choppy 2025 | Chess News

Chess: D Gukesh’s coach Grzegorz Gajewski on what the world champion will focus on in 2026 after a choppy 2025 | Chess News

Published by Webster

For about half a minute, Grzegorz Gajewski searches for the right words. The question is a fairly simple one: what will be D Gukesh’s priority in terms of chess in 2026. As Gukesh’s full-time coach since 2023, Gajewski has watched as the teenager from Chennai vroomed his way from being a prodigy to becoming the youngest world champion in chess history. Of course, 2026 is the year that Gukesh enters the trenches to defend his crown. But Gajewski is trying to explain what the Indian will prioritise in terms of chess, and not just competitions. Eventually, he finds the two words he’s looking for: patience and confidence. It’s a curious mix of words. “Both of them combined, I’m sure are going to give him great results,” Gajewski tells The Indian Express. “When you’re confident, you’re patient as well, right? Because you know the results are going to come.” After an all-conquering 2024, Gukesh and Gajewski experienced a choppy 2025. The results just did not come, even though tournaments were plentiful with organisers of every kind …

‘For sure there in extra pressure (of being world champion)’

‘For sure there in extra pressure (of being world champion)’

Published by Webster

Gukesh Dommaraju will soon complete a year as the youngest world champion in chess history. Since becoming the world champion by defeating Ding Liren in Singapore, Gukesh has not had the best of runs and is yet to win any event. In an Ask Me Anything on X, organised by the Global Chess League on Friday, Gukesh admitted that there was pressure of being world champion. But he said that he was hopeful that he would work it out just like he had done other challenges in his career. Responding to a question about there being “extra pressure of being the world champion while playing” Gukesh replied: “For sure there is extra pressure and I feel it too but with each change I have adapted sooner or later in my career so far and I’m sure I will do that this time too!” When he was asked if he thought he could be World No 1 some day, Gukesh replied: “I know I will give my absolute best for it but whether or not it …

Meet man behind D Gukesh’s rapid rise

Meet man behind D Gukesh’s rapid rise

Published by Webster

MVM Velmohan recalls the day nearly 10 years ago when he first saw a boy who had impressed the chess co-ordinator of Velammal School, the educational institution he owned. “Velavan Subbiah said this boy has the potential to emulate Viswanathan Anand and wanted us to assist him financially,” Velmohan says about the day he met D Gukesh for the first time. A decade later, one can safely say that the confidence wasn’t misplaced as Gukesh became the youngest-ever Chess World Champion, beating Ding Liren in Singapore last week. Velmohan was at hand when Gukesh reached the pinnacle of the chess world. Last Friday, after Gukesh secured the winning point, Velmohan took the next flight to Singapore. An opportunity to witness Gukesh being crowned wasn’t to be missed. And as scores of lensmen hustle to grab a picture of the new king of 64 squares on his return to Chennai, Velmohan is standing in a corner, soaking in the moment. As security guards extricate Gukesh from the melee, Velmohan dusts off the garlands from the 18-year-old’s …

World Chess Championship: Chennai comes out in big numbers to welcome its newest hero Gukesh | Chess News

World Chess Championship: Chennai comes out in big numbers to welcome its newest hero Gukesh | Chess News

Published by Webster

For five minutes after his exit from Gate A5 of the Anna International Airport on Monday, D Gukesh experienced what Mikhail Tal would have felt when he landed at Riga in 1960 after winning the World Chess Championship as a 23-year-old. While in April, the 18-year-old had received a one-of-a-kind welcome after winning the Candidates that put him in the World Chess Championship showdown with Ding Liren, on Monday his return was chaotic and beyond anyone’s control. There were multiple posters that reminded who he is – ‘the new world chess champion D Gukesh’. Around 50 students from his alma mater, Velammal School, lined up to form a guard of honour, with everyone holding a placard in their hand that read: ‘Congratulations Gukesh’. Watching the buzz that was building up, one of the bouquet shop vendors moved his stall close to the gate. Around 10 police personnel tried their best to control the chaos even as the airport security started putting up barricades to ensure the newly-crowned chess king marched into the waiting car. Capturing …

Gukesh conquers fear of heights with bungee jump, shouts ‘I’m the world champion’ while falling

Gukesh conquers fear of heights with bungee jump, shouts ‘I’m the world champion’ while falling

Published by Webster

Right after conquering the world champion’s throne in chess, India’s Gukesh also conquered something else: his fear of heights. The 18-year-old honoured a pact he had made with his trainer, Polish grandmaster Grzegorz Gajewski, to do the bungee jump despite his fear of heights if he became a world champion by defeating Ding Liren. Gukesh needed a last-gasp blunder from his Chinese opponent to become the youngest world champion in history when Ding blundered in Game 14, just when it looked like the matter would have to be settled in tiebreaks. The story of why the duo had made the pact to go bungee jumping goes something like this: After game 9 of the World Chess Championship, both Gukesh and Grzegorz Gajewski were walking on the beach on the rest day. That’s when the Polish trainer saw a few people trying bungee jumping in the distance. On an impulse, Gajewski declared that he would do the bungee jump. As Gukesh had recollected after becoming world champion, “Tomorrow I have to go do the bungee jump. …

Norway Chess 2025 will see Gukesh face Magnus Carlsen and Arjun Erigaisi in elite field

Norway Chess 2025 will see Gukesh face Magnus Carlsen and Arjun Erigaisi in elite field

Published by Webster

Gukesh Dommaraju, who became the youngest ever world champion in the history of chess last week, will play at the Norway Chess tournament next year, the tournament organisers confirmed on Monday afternoon. The elite Norway Chess 2025 event, which is set to take place in Stavanger from May 26 to June 6, will see Gukesh take on former world champion Magnus Carlsen and Arjun Erigaisi. The rest of the field will be announced soon. China’s Wei Yi has also confirmed his participation at the event. Gukesh was not part of last year’s event, which had Indian players like Praggnanandhaa, Vaishali Rameshbabu and Koneru Humpy competing. Former world champion Ding Liren, Hikaru Nakamura and Fabiano Caruana were also at Stavanger to compete in the vent last year. The young world champion said he was eager to return to Norway Chess next year. “I’m excited to face the strongest players in the world again in Norway and also the Armageddons will be fun,” Gukesh was quoted as saying in a press release. When asked about his preparation, …

Youngest World Chess Champion’s Grand Homecoming

Youngest World Chess Champion’s Grand Homecoming

Published by Parlour News

Gukesh: ‘My desire to win is probably stronger than my fear of losing… I’m a bit of a risk-taker’ India’s D Gukesh during the Closing Ceremony of the FIDE World Chess Championship 2024, in Singapore. (FIDE/Eng Chin An via PTI Photo) In Singapore, there were multiple times when he pressed for the game to go on even when he was in a worse position on the board. Twice he declined a draw offer from his opponent even when he was in a worse position on the board. Asked about appetite to take risks in games that had everything riding on them, Gukesh said: “My desire to win is probably stronger than my fear of losing. Maybe it’s because of my young age. I’m a more ambitious player. From the initial few games, it was clear that Ding was not taking on the chances that he was given. So I had a bit more freedom to push. I felt the freedom to push my luck a bit. He was doing great at defending tenaciously. But he …