Dommaraju Gukesh, a chess prodigy and the youngest contender to the world championship, won the Young Changemaker award from Businesslike after defeating H Stefansson of Iceland in the 45th Chess Olympiad in Budapest, Hungary.
Usha and Shankar Raju, Gukesh’s grandparents, accepted the prize on the 18-year-old’s behalf. Gukesh is an Indian representative in the Chess Olympiad. Gukesh expressed gratitude to businessline for its assistance in a video greeting. He said that his family’s efforts, especially those of his parents, and his own hard work had contributed to his achievement.
According to Gukesh’s grandpa Shankar Raju, the chess prodigy’s passion in the game began when he was just three years old. His high level of talent and desire for the game were recognized by his school coach, who also taught him how to play.
We found that Gukesh was bright and had a talent for chess. In order to focus on and develop his gift, his parents essentially abandoned their occupations. Gukesh’s father was an ENT physician who spent a lot of time with him. Shankar Raju stated, “He has talent, but he has also worked very hard to nurture and sharpen his skills.”
As the youngest-ever contender for the world chess championship, Dommaraju Gukesh created history. As the FIDE Circuit leader at the end of 2023, he secured a berth in the Candidates Tournament, becoming the third-youngest player in history, behind only Bobby Fischer and Norway’s Magnus Carlsen, the three-time world champion. Gukesh, who is eighteen years old, won the Candidates Tournament in 2024 and will go up against China’s Ding Liren, the current world champion, for the championship.
In March 2022, Gukesh became the youngest Indian Grandmaster to date to break the 2700 Elo rating milestone, making him only the sixth Indian to do so. He also became the third youngest player in the world to be rated above 2700 and later the youngest to achieve 2750 at the age of 16 years, 1 month, and 7 days.