India, Jan. 16 -- D Gukesh made history last year by becoming the youngest world chess champion ever. The 18-year-old triumphed over the reigning champion Ding Liren at the World Chess Championship held in Singapore. Gukesh is only the second Indian to achieve this milestone, following Viswanathan Anand, who has claimed the World Championship title five times.

The championship culminated in a critical fourteenth game, where it appeared that Liren was executing his strategy to push for a tiebreaker. However, a significant error by the Chinese Grandmaster on the 55th move led to his resignation, resulting in a momentous outcome.

Following his victory, Gukesh returned to India and took a hiatus from the FIDE circuit to participate in various felicitation events. He opted not to compete in the year-end World Rapid and Blitz Championships in New York, which were marred by controversies.

Gukesh is scheduled to resume competitive play on Friday (January 17) as he embarks on his 2025 season at the Tata Steel Chess Tournament in the Netherlands. This tournament will also feature prominent players such as Anish Giri, Arjun Erigaisi, and Fabiano Caruana. Last year, Gukesh finished in second place in this prestigious event, often referred to as the 'Wimbledon of chess.'

Magnus Carlsen holds the record for the most victories in the tournament's history, having won in Wijk aan Zee eight times from 2008 to 2022. He will not be participating this year, as he is currently concentrating on rapid and blitz formats.

Historically, the tournament has seen champions like Garry Kasparov, Anatoly Karpov, and Viswanathan Anand, the latter of whom has secured the title five times, making him the second-most successful player after Carlsen.

After the tournament in the Netherlands, Gukesh will compete in the first phase of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour, commencing on February 7 in Germany, where he will face both Viswanathan Anand and Carlsen. Subsequently, he will participate in Norway Chess 2025, which is set to begin in May.

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