NEW DELHI: Gukesh Dommaraju’s historic win at the World Chess Championship marks the “beginning of a new era” for the game in India, his country’s chess federation said on Friday, as declarations of pride poured in from across his homeland.
Dommaraju, an 18-year-old from the southern state of Tamil Nadu, became the world’s youngest chess champion on Thursday, after defeating titleholder Ding Liren of China — 14 years his senior — in Singapore.
“It’s the beginning of a new era of chess in our country,” Nitin Narang, president of the All India Chess Federation, told Arab News. “It’s an incredible feat and what Gukesh has brought to our nation is a moment of pride for 1.4 billion Indians ... I think this is going to catalyze the new generation of chess players in India.”
Narang was with Dommaraju and his father and coach during the championship.
“It was surreal, and I was so emotional to see how he hugged his dad and how he hugged his coach. For me, that was the peak of the entire championship,” he said.
The Indian teenager snatched victory in the final contest of their three-week match when Ding made a blunder. Video footage from the game showed Dommaraju beaming with excitement as he spotted it.
“When I realized it, it was probably the best moment of my life,” Gukesh told reporters. “I’ve been dreaming about this moment for more than 10 years.”
He is bringing home the most prestigious chess title and the $1.35 million winner’s share of the $2.5 million championship prize fund.
At the age of 12, Dommaraju became the third-youngest grandmaster in the history of chess. He is the second Indian to win the World Chess Championship after Viswanathan Anand, who won it five times, and who became the first grandmaster from India in 1988.
Anand, also a Tamil Nadu native, has played a vital role in mentoring Dommaraju at his chess academy in Chennai.
“It’s a proud moment for chess, a proud moment for India, a proud moment for WACA (WestBridge Anand Chess Academy), and for me, a very personal moment of pride,” Anand wrote on X, as congratulations and declarations of pride poured in from across India and abroad.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Dommaraju on his “remarkable accomplishment” and posted on X that “his triumph has not only etched his name in the annals of chess history but has also inspired millions of young minds to dream big and pursue excellence.”
India’s president, Draupadi Murmu, said the win “stamps the authority of India as a chess powerhouse.”
At 18, Dommaraju is four years younger than the Russian legend Garry Kasparov was when he won the title in 1985.
In a series of posts on X, Kasparov said: “Gukesh impressively surmounted every obstacle and opponent in his path, especially considering his age” and that his victory “caps a phenomenal year for India.”
In September, Dommaraju won a team gold and an individual gold medal at the 45th Chess Olympiad in Hungary, where India’s women’s team also claimed gold.
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