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Dommaraju Gukesh, India's youngest GM, made history by clinching the title of World Chess Champion at the age of 18. Gukesh won the title on December 12th, defeating previous champion Ding Liren with a score of 7.5-6.5 in a close final. With this achievement, Gukesh beat Garry Kasparov's record set in 1985 and became the second Indian to win the renowned title. Gukesh's journey to reach this achievement was supported by his parents and guidance from chess legendary Anand. Moreover, Gukesh was the first young player to get recruited into Anand's chess academy.
The young champion's FIDE World Championship support staff include names of seasoned players and experts such as Harikrishna Pentala, Grzegorz Gajewski, Radoslaw Wojtaszek, Vincent Keymer, Jan-Krzysztof Duda, and Paddy Upton, a mental conditioning coach. However, Gukesh isn't inspired by any chess greats alone but by a sportsperson from another game. The player is none other than Abhinav Bindra, the shooting legend.
I'm really inspired by him: D Gukesh on Abhinav Bindra
The 18-year-old carries a copy of Abhinav Bindra's autobiography, A Shot at History. He is "really inspired" by the shooting legend, who became the first Indian to win an individual gold medal in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. "My objective has always been to be the top player in the world. I love Abhinav Bindra’s autobiography, A Shot At History. I’m really inspired by him. But I think our cases are a bit different because the Olympics is pretty much the highest target you can have in his sport. They prepare for the Olympics for four years. I mean, the World Chess Championship is also pretty high in chess," Gukesh said.
The Chennai-born, who received a total of US$ 1.3 million (Rs 11.45 crore) as a part of his World Championship victory prize, as well as a cash prize of Rs 5 crore from the Tamil Nadu government, will be next playing at the Tata Steel Chess Tournament in Wijk aan Zed, Netherlands, from January 17 to February 2.
