Gukesh becomes World Championship challenger at 17!

Will he be the youngest world champion ever?

ChessBase co-founder Frederic Friedel warned us about five years ago (or even earlier): a generation of Indian prodigies was about to storm the chess world!

Gukesh D, a 12-year-old boy from Chennai had recently become the second-youngest GM in history — he is now the third-youngest after Abhimanyu Mishra broke Sergey Karjakin’s record — and he stood out for his maturity and in-depth understanding of the game.

In 2022, the youngster had a breakthrough year, as he went from a 2614 rating in January to a 2725 rating by the end of the year. On his way to entering the exclusive 2700-club, Gukesh won four open tournaments in a row in Spain, and shocked the chess world by scoring eight consecutive wins at the start of a historic Chess Olympiad in his hometown.

Attack like a Super Grandmaster

In this Fritztrainer: “Attack like a Super GM” with Gukesh we touch upon all aspects of his play, with special emphasis on how you can become a better attacking player.

A year and a half later, the cool-headed prodigy gained the right to face Ding Liren in the upcoming match for the World Chess Championship — and he is still only 17 years old! If he manages to beat the current champion, he will become the youngest-ever world champion, a record currently held by Garry Kasparov, who gained the title at the age of 22 back in 1985.

Gukesh qualified for the most prestigious event in the world of chess by winning the Candidates Tournament in Toronto. His 9/14 score was enough to claim outright victory, which is rather surprising given how close the race for first place had been throughout the event.

The Indian prodigy outscored Fabiano Caruana, Hikaru Nakamura and Ian Nepomniachthci by a half point — the three players who finished in shared second place were also the top three seeds at the double round-robin, not to mention the fact that Caruana and Nepo had already won previous editions of the event.

On his way to overall victory, Gukesh defeated Praggnanandhaa R, Vidit Gujrathi, Alireza Firouzja and Nijat Abasov (twice). He only suffered one loss, against Firouzja in round 7.

In fact, the cool-headed, serene youngster confessed in a press conference that he felt at his best in Toronto right after his round-7 loss. The confession was clipped by Olimpiu di Luppi:

Former women’s world champion Susan Polgar, who frequently comments on events in the chess world, had this to say about Gukesh to Indian media, as she shared on her X account:

I said long before the recent success of the new crop of talented young Indian players, Gukesh will go the furthest. He has the maturity beyond his years. He has the talent, motivation, fearless mentality, strong nerves, determination, and the X-factor…

Like Frederic Friedel, the oldest of the Polgar sisters was able to foresee a brilliant future for the young man from Chennai. Perhaps even Gukesh knew that he was destined for greatness. At least, he was confident enough to share his ambitions of becoming world champion in an interview conducted by the organizers of the traditional open tournament in Gibraltar — he was 12 at the time:

Gukesh’s dream might just come true earlier than expected, as he is set to face world champion Ding Liren — another low-key, humble grandmaster — in the upcoming match for the world title. According to FIDE, the match should take place at the end of the year.

• Top juniors in 2022: Gukesh
• Check out Gukesh’s technical prowess in Karsten Müller’s Endgame Magic Show

Attack & Master Advanced Tactics and Calculations like a Super Grandmaster

Two Super Grandmasters from India explain the ins & outs of Attack, Tactics an Calculations in these two video courses.

Chess fans want a photo with the new challenger! | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza

Sharing a laugh with ChessBase India’s Sagar Shah — Sagar was instrumental in the incredible growth chess experienced in India! | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza

Fighting spirit to the bitter end

There was plenty of drama in the final round of the Candidates. Gukesh entered the round as the sole leader, so a draw was enough to secure at least shared first place (in case of a tie, the winner would be decided in a playoff). Since he had black against the ever-dangerous Nakamura, who would leapfrog him with a win, achieving a safe draw after getting a minimal edge in the early middlegame was surely a success.

Once the draw was agreed in the aforementioned encounter, it all came down to the game between Caruana and Nepomniachtchi. A win for either of the former World Championship challengers would get them into a playoff against Gukesh — and they gave it all in a hard-fought struggle that lasted no fewer than 109 moves!

Gukesh D ready for the fight at the start of round 14 | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza

Caruana got a clearly superior position in the middlegame, but made a questionable decision while trying to convert his advantage into a win — he traded his bishop (and a pawn) for his opponent’s rook, allowing Nepomniachtchi to show his resourcefulness in an endgame with queen and rook against queen and (tricky) knight.

The position was still winning for Caruana, but his clock was dangerously ticking down throughout the endgame.

Navigating the Ruy Lopez Vol.1-3

The Ruy Lopez is one of the oldest openings which continues to enjoy high popularity from club level to the absolute world top. In this video series, American super GM Fabiano Caruana, talking to IM Oliver Reeh, presents a complete repertoire for White.

The last clear winning sequence missed by Caruana was seen on move 66, but the contenders continued playing what was a clearly drawn queen endgame. Despite having escaped with a draw in this game, Nepomniachtchi reluctantly accepted Caruana’s draw offer after almost six hours of play. The Russian GM, who won the previous two editions of the event, was not happy with the result.

What a pair of fighters! Now two “veterans” (at 31 and 33), they will have to deal with the new generation of formidable talents to get another shot at the world title in the next cycles.

Results - Round 14

Fabiano Caruana and Ian Nepomniachtchi, two of the strongest chess players in the world during the 21^st century | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza

Caruana ½ - ½ Nepomniachtchi

Analysis by André Schulz

Caruana, Fabiano2803

½–½

Nepomniachtchi, Ian2758

FIDE Candidates 2024 Toronto21.04.2024[Schulz,A]

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Bg5 Bb4 This move is more aggressive than 5...Be7 6.e3 h6 7.Bh4 g5 8.Bg3 Ne4 9.Qc2 Caruana knows the alternative from Black's point of view: 9.Nge2 h5 10.h4 Bg4 11.Qb3 Nxg3 12.Nxg3 Nc6 13.Bb5 Bxc3+ 14.Qxc3 Rh6= ½-½ Rapport,R (2740)-Caruana,F (2766) Tata Steel-A 85th Wijk aan Zee 2023 (4) 9...h5 10.f3 Nxg3 11.hxg3 Be6 12.Bd3 c6 13.0-0-0 Nd7 14.f4 So far, games always continued with 14.Nge2 e.g.: Nb6 15.Kb1 Qe7 16.g4 h4 17.Na4 Nxa4 18.Qxa4 a5 19.e4 dxe4 20.Bxe4= 1-0 Mamedyarov,S (2772)-Motylev,A (2640) Wch Rapid Moscow 2019 (12) 14...Bg4 15.Nf3 Qe7

After White's long castling, Black's pawn storm on the kingside comes to nothing. White, on the other hand, has good control over the centre. With the last move Black also prepares castle long. 16.e4 Bxc3 17.Qxc3 Bxf3 17...dxe4 18.Bxe4 0-0-0 18...Qxe4?? 19.Rhe1+- 19.Rde1 18.gxf3 dxe4 19.Bxe4 gxf4 20.g4 0-0-0 20...h4!? After 21.Kb1 0-0-0 22.d5 Ne5 23.dxc6 Nxc6 24.Bxc6 bxc6 25.Qxc6+ Kb8 White's advantage is only slight, despite the black king's vulnerability. 26.Qb5+ Ka8 27.Qc6+ Kb8 21.d5 h4 In case of 21...c5?? there follows 22.d6 Qe6 23.Qa5 with an advantage: Kb8 23...Qc4+ 24.Kb1 Nb6 25.Qxa7 Qa6 26.Bf5++- 24.Qc7+ Ka8 25.Qxb7# 22.dxc6 Compared to the variation on Black's 20th move, White has an extra tempo here. Nc5 22...Ne5 23.cxb7+ Kb8 24.Rxd8+ Rxd8 25.Kb1 Qc7 26.Qxc7+ Kxc7 27.Rxh4+- 23.Bf5+ Kb8 24.Kb1 b6 25.Rd7 Rxd7 26.cxd7 Rd8 27.Qd4 Nxd7 28.Rd1 Qc5 29.Qxf4+ Qc7 30.Qd2 h3 31.Be4

The black pieces are unable to move. White threatens Qd5 and has a winning position. 31...a5 32.Qd5 Ka7 33.Qxf7 h2 34.Qh7 34.f4!?+- 34...Kb8 35.a3 Qe5 36.Qh6 Qc7 37.g5 Rg8 38.Rh1 38.f4!? Qxf4?? 39.Qc6+- 38...Nc5 39.Bh7?! This move allows the following quality sacrifice. Clearer was 39.Bc2 39...Rxg5! 40.Qxg5 Qxh7+

With the knight and the advanced passed pawn Black now has good practical chances, especially with time running out. 41.Ka1? This gives away the advantage. More precise, according to the engines, was 41.Ka2 e.g.: Qf7+ 41...Qc2 42.Qe5+ Ka7 43.Qxh2 43.Rxh2? Qc4+ 44.Kb1 Qd3+ 45.Ka2 45.Kc1?? Nb3# 45...Qb3+= 43...Qb3+ 44.Ka1 Qxf3 45.Qh5 Qf4 46.Qd5 with better winning chances, although White has lost his f-pawn here. 42.Ka1 Nb3+ 43.Kb1 Qxf3 44.Qe5+ Ka7 45.Qxh2 Qd3+ 46.Ka2 Qc4 47.Rd1 but White still has to work hard for the win. 41...Qc2 42.Qg8+ Ka7 43.Ka2 a4 44.f4 Nb3 45.Qg7+ Ka6 46.Qc3 Qg2 47.Qc4+ Kb7 48.Re1 Nc5 48...h1Q?? 49.Re7+ Kb8 50.Qc7+ and mate. 49.Qf1 Qd5+ 50.Kb1 Qf5+ 51.Ka1 Qc2 51...Ka7= as per the engines. 52.f5 Nd3 53.Rb1 Nc5 54.f6 The f-pawn still offers White hopes of a win. Nb3+ 55.Ka2 Nd2 56.Qh1+ Ka7 57.Rc1 Qb3+ 58.Ka1 Qe6 59.Rc7+ 59.Rd1!? Nb3+ 60.Kb1 Qxf6 61.Qxh2 59...Ka6 60.f7 Nb3+ 61.Kb1

61...Qf5+? 61...Nd2+ 62.Kc2 Qf5+ 63.Kxd2 Qf2+ 64.Kd3 Qg3+ 65.Ke2 Qe5+ with perpetual check or the c7-rook falls with check. 62.Ka2 Nc5 63.Qa8+ Kb5 64.Qc6+ Ka6 65.Qa8+ Kb5 66.Qc6+ Better was 66.Qe8+ Ka6 67.Qe2+ Nd3 67...Ka5 68.Ra7++- 68.f8Q Qd5+ 69.Ka1 h1Q+ 70.Qff1 Qxf1+ 71.Qxf1 Ka5 72.Ra7+ Kb5 73.Qe2+- 66...Ka6 67.Re7 Qf1=

68.Qa8+ Kb5 69.Qe8+ Ka6 70.Qa8+ Kb5 71.Qe8+ Ka6

72.Re4 Giving up the exchange gives White an extra pawn, but it's not enough get the coveted win. Nxe4 73.Qxa4+ Kb7 74.Qxe4+ Ka7 75.Qa4+ Kb7 76.Qd7+ Ka6 77.Qc8+ Ka7 78.f8Q Qxf8 79.Qxf8 h1Q 80.a4 Qd5+ 81.Ka3 Qd3+ 82.b3 Qd4 83.Qf7+ Kb8 84.Qe8+ Ka7 85.Qe7+ Kb8 86.Qe1 Qd6+ 87.Qb4 Qf6 88.Qd2 Qe7+ 89.b4 Qe6 90.Qd3 Ka7 91.Qc3 Kb8 92.Qb3 Qf6 93.Qe3 Qd6 94.Kb3 Qd5+ 95.Kb2 Qd6 96.Qe8+ Ka7 97.Qf7+ Kb8 98.Kc3 Qe5+ 99.Kd3 Qd6+ 100.Kc4 Qc6+ 101.Kb3 Qd6 102.Qf3 Qd4 103.Qe2 Qd5+ 104.Ka3 Qd6 105.Qb5 Qd4 106.Kb3 Ka7 107.Qe2 Qd5+ 108.Ka3 Qd4 109.Kb3 ½–½

Expert analysis by GM Daniel King

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Expert analysis by IM Robert Ris

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Links

• Official Candidates Tournaments website
• On the way to Toronto: Candidates’ performances in Wijk aan Zee
• FIDE publishes regulations for 2024 Candidates Tournaments
• Who will win the 2024 Candidates Tournament?