Gukesh Dommaraju, at the young age of 17, made history by becoming the youngest player to win the men’s Candidates chess tournament. His victory came after an intense final day of the event, where he secured a draw against Hikaru Nakamura. The turning point in the match came when American Fabiano Caruana made a critical mistake against Russia’s Ian Nepomniachtchi, allowing Gukesh to take the lead with Nakamura, Nepomniachtchi, and Caruana finishing behind him.
With a draw with the black pieces, Gukesh ended the tournament with a score of 9/14, while Nakamura, Nepomniachtchi, and Caruana finished with 8.5/14. This marked a significant milestone in Gukesh’s young career, establishing him as a rising star in the world of chess. The previous youngest winner of a men’s Candidates tournament was Garry Kasparov, who achieved the feat at the age of 20 in 1984. Just a year later, Kasparov went on to win the world champion title against fellow Russian Anatoly Karpov. This victory by Gukesh has set him on track to become one of the greatest chess players of all time.