D Gukesh has become a household name in India after making history as the youngest world chess champion at just 18 years old. He took down the reigning champion, Ding Liren, at the World Chess Championship held in Singapore, having earned his spot by winning the Candidates Tournament.

The match came down to a crucial fourteenth game, and it seemed like Liren was on track to push for a tie-breaker. However, a huge mistake on his 55th move led him to resign, marking a memorable victory for Gukesh.

Which Senior Indian Grandmaster Contributed to D Gukesh's World Chess Victory?

Gukesh's dad, Rajnikanth, shared with ChessBase India that a senior Indian Grandmaster played a significant part in his son's development, and it wasn't Viswanathan Anand.

That Grandmaster is Harikrishna, a 38-year-old from Andhra Pradesh who hit a peak world ranking of 10 and an ELO rating of 2770 back in 2016.

Rajnikanth mentioned, “Gukesh and Hari teamed up for a week in 2022, and after that, Gukesh really took off, winning the Gijon Open, surpassing 2700 Elo in Biel, and then shining at the Chennai Olympiad 2022 with an individual gold and team bronze.”

Hari was super generous to invite Gukesh over to his place after he hit the 2650 mark. He mentioned being really impressed with Gukesh’s gameplay. I think that week of focused training at Hari’s house was a huge factor in Gukesh’s development at that time. Hari also supported him during the Candidates and the World Championship Match, and I’m really grateful for all his help and guidance, he said.

Gukesh’s victory caused a stir on social media, with both former and current players praising him. However, he also faced some mixed reactions, including from Magnus Carlsen. Carlsen has already made it clear that he won’t be challenging Gukesh for the World Championship title. The two are scheduled to compete against each other in February at the Freestyle Chess Grandslam, and again in Norway later on.

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