Dommaraju Gukesh won the Candidates by half a point and will face Ding Liren for the world crown. Photo: Michał Walusza
Gukesh Dommaraju became the youngest candidate ever at the age of 17 winner and challenger of the world championship on Sunday after beating favorites Fabiano Caruana, Hikaru Nakamura and Ian Nepomniachtchi in a six-hour marathon final in Toronto.
Gukesh will now face the holder, China's Ding Liren, in a 14-match series for the world title from November 20 to December 15. World number 1, Norwegian Magnus Carlsen, relinquished his title in 2023 after a ten-year reign.
The Chennai teenager started the 14th and final round half a point ahead of his three rivals, having the better of a draw with American world number 3 Nakamura. Caruana, the US world number 2, had the chance to force a draw and a speed play-off, but failed to convert his winning position against Russia's Nepomniachtchi. Their game lasted 109 moves and six hours before Caruana gave up his attempts to make progress in what was by then a dead silent ending.
Related: Indian teenager Gukesh Dommaraju becomes the youngest challenger for the world chess title
The American and the Russian have fought for the crown for the better part of a decade, and their mutual disappointment sparked a camaraderie between them, as seen in a video of the final moments of their match. "I'm really sorry," Nepomniachtchi says. "My fault," Caruana replies.
The final leading scores were Gukesh 9/14, Caruana, Nakamura and Nepomniachtchi all 8.5, Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu (India) 7.
Gukesh's victory is a historic achievement. So far, teens have had an indifferent record with the Candidates. Only Bobby Fischer in 1959 and Carlsen in 2006, both 16 at the time, were younger than Gukesh, and both were also-rans.
Garry Kasparov, who at the age of 20 was the Candidates' previous youngest winner, called the result "an Indian earthquake in Toronto" and added "Vishy Anand's children are on the run" in a reference to the previous world champion of India, who mentored Gukesh and his chess hero.
Gukesh's career has been marked by consistent rapid progress since 2019, when he became a grandmaster at 12 years and seven months, the third youngest in history after Abhimanyu Mishra of the US and Sergey Karjakin of Russia. It was then that his family decided to support him as a professional player, despite the financial risks involved. He later became the youngest ever to achieve a rating of 2750, and won the individual gold medal on the highest board at the 2022 Olympiad. He qualified for the Candidates by finishing at the top of the Fide Circuit, a ranking of major tournaments.
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A secret of his success is his calmness and equanimity under pressure. Outside of the board, he enjoys playing outdoor sports, with tennis being his favorite. He practices yoga regularly, which improves his stamina. He noted that despite his lack of experience, his youth was a strength for such a long tournament: "At my age it's easier to be focused."
Gukesh's only loss in Toronto came against Alireza Firouzja in round six, when he succumbed to time pressure and his despair was allayed. captured on video. Yet from that moment on his confidence in winning the tournament grew: "I was upset, but during the rest day I felt so good that the loss gave me motivation."
His second, the Polish grandmaster Grzegorz Gajewski, who worked with Anand for many years, said: "Anand is the brilliant one, who sees it first, but Gukesh is the calm one, who managed to keep his composure even in the most stressful moments. . Besides being a brilliant player, this is the most important thing that defined the tournament."
At the finish there was only half a point left. Gukesh drew all six matches against his main rivals but won crucially with both suits against outclassed tailender Nijat Abasov, who dealt a blow to Nepomniachtchi's chances by drawing twice. Nakamura's nemesis was Vidit Gujrathi, who crushed the popular streamer twice.
The 36-year-old wiped it all away two days later when he scored a clean sheet at this week's Titled Tuesday, opening with 1h4 in several matches. He has now won the event 71 times.
Many would argue that the World Cup, a 150-player knockout that qualifies three candidates, and the Grand Swiss, with over 100 players and two qualifiers, are over-represented and should have fewer places, and that the Fide Circuit, which is the rewards winners of high-level tournaments, should have more than one. Gukesh qualified from the circuit and Caruana would have done so had he not already secured a place via another route.
The upcoming Ding-Gukesh match for the world crown, which will take place from November 20 to December 15, will be the first all-Asian title match. Ding's indifferent form in recent months means the challenger will become favorite to break Kasparov's record as the youngest world champion by four years, but there is a caveat.
In an interview, Ding praised his rival: "He has a maturity befitting his age, and he has his own unique understanding of the position... He is a difficult opponent to deal with." But he added: "I have the advantage in classical chess."
Ding refers to their only two classic matches against each other, at Tata Steel Wijk aan Zee in 2023 and 2024, where in both cases the Chinese player defeated his opponent with the black pieces.
Months before his world title challenge, the Candidates winner has another key date: May 8 to 12 at the Grand Chess Tour Rapid and Blitz in Warsaw, Poland, where the 10-player field includes both Gukesh and Carlsen.
China's Tan Zhongyi won the women's competition and will now meet her compatriot Ju Wenjun for the world title. Leaders were Tan 9/14, Lei Tingjie (China), Koneru Humpy and Vaishali Rameshbabu (both India), all 7.5.
Tan, 32, and born on May 29, the same day of the year as Gukesh, was a very convincing winner who led from start to finish and lost only once. She revealed afterwards that she did not expect to win, as competitive chess is no longer her main priority. Instead, she has her own club and coaches talented students.
Her past achievements include a world championship, which she won in 2017, when the event was organized as a knockout. In 2018, she lost a title match 4.5-5.5 to Ju, who has since held the crown and will be the favorite in their rematch due to her good performance in Wijk aan Zee earlier this year. Tan's best win in Toronto was a classic kingside attack.
The other notable result among the women's candidates came from Vaishali Rameshbabu, sister of Praggnanandhaa, who finished fifth in the open event. Vaishali lost four matches in a row between rounds six through nine, then made an astonishing comeback by winning all her last five matches. At the age of 22, she has chances to reach the top of women's chess, so having a brother and sister as world champions is not an impossible dream. A knight sacrifice on f7 launched a winning attack for Vaishali from a fashionable variation of the Petroff.
3917: 1 Rxc8+ Bxc8 (if Qxc8? 2 Rxh7) 2 f7+! Resigns. If Qxf7 (Kxf7? 3 Rxh7+ or Rxf7? 3 Q8+ Rf8 4 Rxf8 mate) 3 Qc2! with the winning double threat of 4 Qc8 mate or 4 Q or Rxh7.
