Gukesh Dommaraju did not go into the Candidates tournament as a favorite. But the 17-year-old from Chennai, India, has earned his right to play for the chess world title against current title holder, Ding Liren. In fact, he is the youngest chess challenger ever.

A dramatic finish for a teenage candidate

The world champion in chess is decided through a system of tournaments. Leading players compete in select events and then, based on their performances, the top eight play against each other in a round-robin (all-play-all) tournament called the “Candidates Tournament”. The winner of the Candidates Tournament earns the right to challenge the reigning World Champion in a match format championship.

The Candidates is probably the most grueling tournament in chess and nothing matters except first place. So understandably, experience and strategic prowess are key qualities.

Gukesh (in Telugu, people are referred to by their given name), despite being a well-known prodigy, was not a favorite in the tournament.

The favorites were Fabiano Caruana (the third-highest-rated player in history), Ian Nepomniachtchi (winner of the previous two Candidates), and Hikaru Nakamura (who is also one of the biggest streamers in online chess). Before the last round, the three were tied, one half-point behind Gukesh. In chess, draws are awarded half a point and a win a full point.

The finish was all the more dramatic as Gukesh was playing against Nakamura and Caruana against Nepomniachtchi. Any victory would have been decisive. Gukesh, however, managed to draw his game without too many problems. But in the other game, sparks were flying.

Caruana was dominating the game, and a win would have tied him with Gukesh. But a surprising blunder and a tremendous defense by Nepomniachtchi (who also needed to win) saw the two draw the game after a six-hour grueling marathon. The two were visibly heartbroken at the end of the game.

“I’m… I’m very sorry,” Nepomniachtchi said.

“It’s my fault,” Caruana replied as he left the table.

In the end, Gukesh won as the three other players tied for second.

A huge moment for Indian chess

For Gukesh, this meant he finally won. He was one of three Indian prodigies at the Candidates tournament — part of an outstanding generation inspired by former champion Viswanathan Anand, the first Indian world chess champion. Anand himself is still ranked 11th, despite being 54, more than three times the age of Gukesh.

Anand, who has won the title five times, tweeted his congratulations to Gukesh.

“Congratulations to @DGukesh for becoming the youngest challenger. The @WacaChess family is so proud of what you have done. I’m personally very proud of how you played and handled tough situations. Enjoy the moment,” the former champion wrote on X.

Gukesh has now become the youngest Candidate in history, three years younger than Garry Kasparov, who went on to become the world champion in the 80s (and is widely considered the best chess player in history).

Gukesh’s trajectory is not entirely surprising. He became a grandmaster at the age of 12, the third youngest person to have done so. However, youth performance doesn’t always translate to adult success. Several other prodigies present at the tournament (some perhaps considered even more promising than Gukesh) failed to deliver on the promise.

Now, if Gukesh wins, he will become India’s second world chess champion. For that, he still has to defeat Ding Liren, the current world champion, later this year during the final match.

Wait, what about Magnus?

Even if Gukesh wins the world title, however, he will still likely not be considered the current best player. Magnus Carlsen, who has been the undefeated world champion for a decade, has declined to defend his title and also declined to participate in the Candidates. Essentially, Carlsen is unhappy with the current system and feels he has nothing more to prove — which is pretty true.

Carlsen is still ranked number one in rating by far and has been ranked number one since July 2011. Carlsen still participates in tournaments, just not in the world title events, and continues to assert his dominance in multiple time formats. Despite not being the current world champion, Carlsen is still widely considered the best player in activity and one of the best chess players of all time. In fact, if anyone can challenge Kasparov’s GOAT status, it’s probably Carlsen.

For the 17-year-old Gukesh, this is of little relevance. He still has a long way to go before he can become world champion, but the title is now within reach. He may become the world’s youngest chess champion in history.