Candidates 2024: Gukesh D secures title; becomes youngest player in history to qualify for World Championship

Modified Apr 22, 2024 09:52 IST

Gukesh D becomes the youngest player to win Candidates 2024. (Credit: FIDE/X)

Indian grandmaster Gukesh D clinched the FIDE Candidates 2024 title in Toronto, Canada, and became the youngest winner in the competition’s history. The 17-year-old Gukesh became the second Indian after Viswanathan Anand to qualify for the World Championship.

In a marathon game that lasted nearly six hours, grandmaster Fabiano Caruana failed to convert a winning position against Ian Nepomianchtchi, leading to a draw and the necessity of tiebreaks. Meanwhile, Gukesh’s draw against Hikaru Nakamura was sufficient to propel him to the Candidates title win.

Entering the competition as the third youngest player in its history, following in the footsteps of Bobby Fischer and Magnus Carlsen, Gukesh wasn’t initially counted among the favorites for the title by many.

However, the Indian teenager displayed remarkable composure throughout the tournament, securing five victories and suffering only one defeat, against France’s Alireza Firouzja.

Meanwhile, Tan Zhongyi won the 2024 FIDE Women's Candidates Tournament by a 1.5-point margin after maintaining a lead throughout the campaign. She had a winning position against GM Anna Muzychuk, but a draw was sufficient to register the title win.

In the other games on the final day of the competition, Vidit Gujrathi secured a draw over Alireza Firouzja. On the other hand, Praggnanandhaa R had clinched a win over Nijat Abasov.

Praggnanandhaa had to settle for the fifth position in the final standings with seven points, while Vidit Gujrathi secured six points to end with the sixth slot.

Koneru Humpy ended her campaign with a victory over Lei Tingjie. Meanwhile, Vaishali secured a win over Kateryna Lagno. With this, Humpy propelled to the second rank with 7.5 points in the final standings while Vaishali R settled for the fourth position with 7.5 points.

Gukesh D will take on Ding Liren in the World Chess Championship later this year. On the other hand, Tan Zhongyi will lock horns with China’s Ju Wenjun in the Women’s World Chess Championship.