Who is Indian chess player Dommaraju Gukesh?
What's the story
Indian teenager Dommaraju Gukesh on Sunday outfoxed five-time world champion Magnus Carlsen in the ongoing Aimchess Rapid online tournament. The 16-year-old nailed a historic feat as he became the youngest ever to beat Carlsen in his reign as a world champion. Gukesh bested his rival with white in the ninth round to claim the honor. Here are further details.
Feat
Youngest ever to beat world champion Carlsen
As stated, Gukesh (16 years, 4 months, and 20 days) now holds the distinction of being the youngest ever to stun the Norwegian ace. He broke the record of grandmaster Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, who was aged 16 years, 6 months, and 10 days when he downed Carlsen in 39 moves at the Airthings Masters in February, earlier this year.
Words
'I was not really proud of that game'
Gukesh wasn't highly impressed with himself despite pulling off a distinguishable feat. "Obviously, beating Magnus is always special but I was not really very proud of that game," Gukesh was quoted as saying by chess24.com. Meanwhile, he lost to Polish grandmaster Jan-Krzysztof Duda in 42 moves in the next round. With that, Duda concluded Sunday's proceedings at the top of the leaderboard.
Erigaisi
Erigaisi routs Carlsen in Aimchess Rapid tournament
Prior to the humbling against Gukesh, Carlsen was stunned by 19-year-old Indian grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi in 54 moves in round seven of the preliminaries of the Aimchess Rapid online chess tournament. The reigning national chess champion won three successive games at the event, beating Sweden's Nils Grandelius, USA's Daniel Naroditsky, and Carlsen. He then faced a draw against Polish ace Duda.
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Erigaisi settles the score with Carlsen
Last month, Erigaisi suffered a defeat to Carlsen in the final of the Julius Baer Generation Cup online tournament. He settled the scores in the tourney underway, with the win leapfrogging him back into the Top 8.
Statement
Gukesh has been extremely impressive: Carlsen
"Pragg [Praggnanandhaa] is the only one I've lost multiple times to. As for Arjun and Gukesh: Arjun I've generally beaten; Gukesh is very similar," said Carlsen post the defeats to Indian youngsters. "I think Gukesh has been extremely impressive in classical chess recently. Perhaps this rapid win wasn't his proudest effort, even though getting a win is always nice."
Carlsen
Norway's Magnus Carlsen is a five-time World champion
Carlsen, a five-time World Chess champion, has the distinction of holding the World Championship, Blitz Championship, and Rapid Chess Championships, all at once. He famously won the World Chess Championship in 2013, beating India's Viswanathan Anand. Carlsen went on to win the Rapid Chess Championship in 2014 and defended it successfully in 2015. He also won the Blitz Championship in 2014.
Information
Key details about Aimchess Rapid Tournament
The Aimchess Rapid tournament is the eighth of nine events on the $1.6 million 2022 Meltwater Champions Tour. A total of 16 players took part in the tournament, including five from India. The event commenced on October 14 and concludes on the coming Friday.