India · 2026-10-15 · 2 min read

Gukesh: the youngest World Champion in history

At 18, a boy from Chennai beat the reigning champion and made chess history.

Dommaraju Gukesh was born in Chennai in 2006. He started chess at seven, and at 12 years and 7 months he became a Grandmaster, one of the youngest ever.

In 2024 he won the Candidates Tournament in Toronto at only 17, the youngest player ever to do so. That earned him the right to challenge the World Champion.

In December 2024, in Singapore, he played China’s Ding Liren for the World Championship. After 14 games the score was level, but in the last game Gukesh won. He finished 7½–6½ and became the youngest undisputed World Champion in history, at 18.

He later said he had dreamed of this moment since he was a small child. His story shows how steady daily work, good coaches and a family that believes in you can take you a very long way.

Dream big, and then do the small work every day.