Gukesh D Age 18

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gukesh_D

Title

Grandmaster

Live Rating

2787.0

Live Rank

#3

FIDE Rating

2787

World Rank

#3

India Rank

#1

FIDE Peak Rating

2794 - Oct 2024 (Age 18)

FIDE Peak Rank

#3 (2787) - Mar 2025 (Age 18)

Rapid

2654 World #41, Peak 2656 (Oct 2023)

Blitz

2615 World #87, Peak 2659 (Aug 2023)

Born

29 May 2006
Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India

FIDE ID 46616543

Wikipedia

World Champion

Gukesh is the 18th undisputed Chess Champion of the World, defeating Ding Liren for the title in the match played in Singapore from November through to 12 December 2024. In doing so, he became the youngest ever undisputed World Champion, shading the legendary Gary Kasparov who won the title at the age of 22.

Sidenote: Ponomariov won the FIDE side of the split title in 2002 also at the age of 18, albeit a few months younger than Gukesh. At the time Kasparov was still champion of the “classical” world championship.

Championships:

Asia

Gukesh won the U9 section of the Asian School Championships in 2015.

He won the U12 Asian Youth Championships in classical, rapid and blitz in 2018.

World Youth: He also won two youth world championships:

• U12 (2018) and
• U14 (2020) (online)

World Cup 2023: Gukesh defeated Iskandarov, Narayanan and Esipenko in the preliminary rounds (after a first round bye) before he was eliminated in Round 5 by Magnus Carlsen.

Candidates: Despite this “setback” in the World Cup, Gukesh managed to qualify for the Candidates Tournament of 2024 through the 2023 FIDE Circuit. In April 2024 he won the Candidates Tournament, the youngest person to do so and therefore the youngest ever Challenger for the World Championship Match. He then proceeded to win the World Championship at the end of that year.

Titles

Candidate Master: 2015 upon his win in the U9 Asian School Championship.

International Master: 2018 at the age of 11 years 9 months 9 days following his third IM norm won at the Cappelle la Grande Open.

Grandmaster: On 15 January 2019, Gukesh became the then second-youngest grandmaster in the history of the game (behind Sergey Karjakin) at the age of 12 years, 7 months, and 17 days.

World Champion: 12 December 2024 aged 18 years 6 months and 24 days.

Ratings Milestones:

Third youngest to reach 2700 in September 2022 aged 16 years 3 months

Youngest to reach 2750 in August 2023 aged 17 years 2 months

Top ranked player in India in September 2023, aged 17 years 3 months (ahead of Anand)

Tournaments:

2021: Gukesh won the Julius Baer Challengers Chess Tour, Gelfand Challenge, with 14/19

2022: He won four events in Spain:

• La Roda Open (8/9)
• Menorca Open (6/7)
• Formentora Open (8/10) and
• Gijon City invitational (8/9)

2023: Gukesh finished =1st alongside Aronian and Nepomniachtchi at the WR Masters tournament in Dusseldorf, placing second to Aronian in the tiebreaks.

2025: 2^nd at Wijk aan Zee (Tata Steel Masters)

Team Events:

2018: Gold medals in the 2018 Asian Youth Championships in the U12 Division in the team rapid and blitz competitions.

2022:

• Team gold at the Bangladesh Premier League
• Olympiad: Gold medal on board 1 with 9/11 (TPR 2867), team bronze medal
• Team silver in the Turkish Super League
• Team Gold in the Spanish League Honor Division

2023:

• Team (India) Silver at the Asian Games Men’s Team Standard
• Team gold at the Bundesliga West for Dusseldorf

2024: Olympiad: Team and individual gold medal on board 1 with 10/11 (TPR 3054)

Rapid and Blitz

2022:Team silver at the Spanish Rapid Team Championship in Toledo

1^st at the Armageddon Asia and Oceania Blitz event held in Berlin

Online events

Won the final of the Junior Speed Championship vs Sadhwani (17.5-10.5)

Narrative Summary

To each hero, their time... Gukesh, throughout his still short but very bright life, has been breaking records and constantly pushing the boundaries of what is possible. The Indian prodigy has been at the forefront in almost every race: the youngest ever open World Champion, the title of the youngest grandmaster, the greatest number of games played, the fastest rating growth in a calendar year, early achievements of 2600, 2700 and 2750 ratings, qualifying for the World Championship cycle, the Candidates Tournament, and the match for the crown. By the age of 18, Gukesh has left his mark everywhere, including at the very highest level.

Dommaraju Gukesh, or simply Gukesh D., as he is known worldwide, was born on May 29, 2006, in Chennai. His scholarly parents (his father is a surgeon, and his mother a microbiologist) taught him chess when he started school. At 7, he was dedicating only an hour a day to practice three times a week, playing in tournaments on weekends, but within a year, he had a permanent coach. At 9, Gukesh won the Asian Championship U12, and in 2018, he captured five gold medals, winning in all formats and time controls. In January 2019, he almost broke Karjakin's record of youngest ever grandmaster, earning the title just two and a half weeks older than Karjakin when he achieved his nearly two decades earlier.

At that time, he crossed the 2500 rating mark, and by March 2020, he had a rating of 2563. If it hadn't been for the COVID-19 pandemic, Gukesh's career might have developed even faster. The Indian player returned to competitive chess in June 2021, scoring 14/19 against the world's strongest juniors at the Julius Baer Challengers online event, and then returned to over-the-board play, reaching a rating of 2640 by October. Between March and July 2022, Dommaraju embarked on a true open-world tour: in five months, with short breaks, he participated in 10 consecutive tournaments, playing 90 games and increasing his rating by 70 points.

In India, this streak was highly appreciated, and at the home Olympiad in Chennai in 2022, he was given the 1st board of the national youth team. The decision paid off! Gukesh played all the games, starting with a perfect 8/8 score, leading his team to the top of the tournament. Only a heartbreaking loss to Uzbekistan (Dommaraju had a winning position against Abdusattorov) prevented the young Indians from taking the title (they finished second), and their leader from achieving the absolute best result on the 1st board in Olympiad history, although his 9/11 was enough to earn individual gold.

After the triumph in Chennai, Gukesh had no intention of slowing down: he participated in three more tournaments, and within less than 8 months, his rating soared from 2614 (180th in the world) to 2732 (18th). He crossed the 2700 mark at 16 years, 3 months, and 3 days (only Wei Yi and Firouzja did it earlier). In 2023, the Indian prodigy, now invited to all the major tournaments, continued to accumulate successes: WR Chess Masters (5.5/9), Sharjah Masters (6/9), Norway Chess (5/9), Qatar Masters (6.5/9), and the Chennai Grand Masters (4.5/7). The last of these secured Dommaraju a spot in the 2024 Candidates Tournament as it made him the winner of the FIDE Circuit tournament race. Never before has a 17-year-old chess player participated in such a competition; the previous record belonged to Firouzja, who turned 19 in 2022.

Gukesh's chances in Toronto were not rated very high, but he made good use of Anand's advice, who had been a great help to his fellow countrymen – Pragg and Gukesh – especially after Dommaraju replaced Vishy as India's #1 chess player following Anand's 37-year reign. Gukesh perfectly paced himself throughout the tournament, never losing control, and despite a disappointing loss in the 7th round, he managed to win three games, take 1st place (9/14), and earn the right to the championship match. Gukesh became the youngest challenger for the crown. Before him, Kasparov was the youngest to qualify for the match at 21. Ponomariov won the title at 18, but that was during the FIDE knockout system. So, when the Indian prodigy dethroned Ding Liren in the winter of 2024, he became the youngest World Champion in history!

Carlsen, who never came close to Gukesh's records, doesn't see anything particularly special in his playing style, calling him a "pure counter": "I can't say that his style fascinates me like Praggnanandhaa or Erigaisi. But at the same time, Gukesh almost never makes mistakes, which makes him an extremely dangerous opponent under any circumstances..."

Every chart point has info (FIDE Rating, Date, Rank, Age). Click on the chart to compare the player with any other top player.

Games

#	White Player	Rating	Black Player	Rating	Result	Moves	Site	Date
1	Praggnanandhaa, Rameshbabu	2741	Gukesh, Dommaraju	2777	1-0	62	Wijk aan Zee	2 Feb 2025
2	Gukesh, Dommaraju	2777	Erigaisi, Arjun Kumar	2801	0-1	31	Wijk aan Zee	2 Feb 2025
3	Praggnanandhaa, Rameshbabu	2741	Gukesh, Dommaraju	2777	1-0	39	Wijk aan Zee	2 Feb 2025
4	Gukesh, Dommaraju	2777	Praggnanandhaa, Rameshbabu	2741	1-0	42	Wijk aan Zee	2 Feb 2025
5	Van Foreest, Jorden	2680	Gukesh, Dommaraju	2777	1/2-1/2	51	Wijk aan Zee	1 Feb 2025
6	Gukesh, Dommaraju	2777	Wei, Yi	2751	1/2-1/2	30	Wijk aan Zee	31 Jan 2025
7	Warmerdam, Max	2646	Gukesh, Dommaraju	2777	0-1	34	Wijk aan Zee	29 Jan 2025
8	Gukesh, Dommaraju	2777	Mendonca, Leon Luke	2639	1-0	43	Wijk aan Zee	28 Jan 2025
9	Praggnanandhaa, Rameshbabu	2741	Gukesh, Dommaraju	2777	1/2-1/2	33	Wijk aan Zee	26 Jan 2025
10	Gukesh, Dommaraju	2777	Harikrishna, Pentala	2695	1-0	45	Wijk aan Zee	25 Jan 2025
11	Abdusattorov, Nodirbek	2768	Gukesh D	2777	1/2-1/2	66	Wijk aan Zee	24 Jan 2025
12	Gukesh, Dommaraju	2777	Keymer, Vincent	2733	1-0	72	Wijk aan Zee	22 Jan 2025
13	Sarana, Alexey	2677	Gukesh D	2777	1/2-1/2	70	Wijk aan Zee	21 Jan 2025
14	Gukesh, Dommaraju	2777	Caruana, Fabiano	2803	1/2-1/2	24	Wijk aan Zee	20 Jan 2025
15	Fedoseev, Vladimir1	2717	Gukesh, Dommaraju	2777	1/2-1/2	43	Wijk aan Zee	19 Jan 2025
16	Gukesh, Dommaraju	2777	Giri, Anish	2731	1-0	42	Wijk aan Zee	18 Jan 2025
17	Ding, Liren	2728	Gukesh, Dommaraju	2783	0-1	58	Singapore	12 Dec 2024
18	Gukesh, Dommaraju	2783	Ding, Liren	2728	1/2-1/2	68	Singapore	11 Dec 2024
19	Ding, Liren	2728	Gukesh, Dommaraju	2783	1-0	39	Singapore	9 Dec 2024
20	Gukesh, Dommaraju	2783	Ding, Liren	2728	1-0	29	Singapore	8 Dec 2024
21	Ding, Liren	2728	Gukesh, Dommaraju	2783	1/2-1/2	36	Singapore	7 Dec 2024
22	Gukesh, Dommaraju	2783	Ding, Liren	2728	1/2-1/2	54	Singapore	5 Dec 2024
23	Ding, Liren	2728	Gukesh, Dommaraju	2783	1/2-1/2	51	Singapore	4 Dec 2024
24	Gukesh, Dommaraju	2783	Ding, Liren	2728	1/2-1/2	72	Singapore	3 Dec 2024
25	Ding, Liren	2728	Gukesh, Dommaraju	2783	1/2-1/2	46	Singapore	1 Dec 2024
26	Gukesh, Dommaraju	2783	Ding, Liren	2728	1/2-1/2	40	Singapore	30 Nov 2024
27	Ding, Liren	2728	Gukesh, Dommaraju	2783	1/2-1/2	42	Singapore	29 Nov 2024
28	Gukesh, Dommaraju	2783	Ding, Liren	2728	1-0	37	Singapore	27 Nov 2024
29	Ding, Liren	2728	Gukesh, Dommaraju	2783	1/2-1/2	23	Singapore	26 Nov 2024
30	Gukesh, Dommaraju	2783	Ding, Liren	2728	0-1	42	Singapore	25 Nov 2024
31	Gukesh, Dommaraju	2794	Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi	2726	1/2-1/2	32	Vrnjacka Banja	26 Oct 2024
32	Eljanov, Pavel	2672	Gukesh, Dommaraju	2794	1/2-1/2	43	Vrnjacka Banja	25 Oct 2024
33	Gukesh, Dommaraju	2794	Pechac, Jergus	2582	1/2-1/2	64	Vrnjacka Banja	24 Oct 2024
34	Andreikin, Dmitry	2729	Gukesh, Dommaraju	2794	1-0	51	Vrnjacka Banja	23 Oct 2024
35	Gukesh, Dommaraju	2794	Mamedov, Rauf	2643	1/2-1/2	66	Vrnjacka Banja	22 Oct 2024
36	Gorodetzky, David	2497	Gukesh, Dommaraju	2794	0-1	37	Vrnjacka Banja	21 Oct 2024
37	Gukesh, Dommaraju	2794	Petursson, Margeir	2405	1-0	47	Vrnjacka Banja	20 Oct 2024
38	Fedoseev, Vladimir1	2692	Gukesh, Dommaraju	2764	0-1	48	Budapest	22 Sep 2024
39	Gukesh, Dommaraju	2764	Caruana, Fabiano	2798	1-0	46	Budapest	21 Sep 2024
40	Gukesh, Dommaraju	2764	Abdusattorov, Nodirbek	2766	1/2-1/2	32	Budapest	20 Sep 2024
41	Maghsoodloo, Parham	2723	Gukesh, Dommaraju	2764	0-1	34	Budapest	19 Sep 2024
42	Gukesh, Dommaraju	2764	Wei, Yi	2762	1-0	80	Budapest	18 Sep 2024
43	Rapport, Richard	2715	Gukesh, Dommaraju	2764	1/2-1/2	44	Budapest	16 Sep 2024
44	Gukesh, Dommaraju	2764	Suleymanli, Aydin Elshan	2632	1-0	38	Budapest	15 Sep 2024
45	Predke, Alexandr	2671	Gukesh, Dommaraju	2764	0-1	85	Budapest	14 Sep 2024
46	Gukesh, Dommaraju	2764	Kozak, Adam	2609	1-0	54	Budapest	13 Sep 2024
47	Stefansson, Vignir Vatnar	2531	Gukesh D	2764	0-1	40	Budapest	12 Sep 2024
48	Gukesh D	2766	So, Wesley	2751	1/2-1/2	35	Saint Louis	28 Aug 2024
49	Giri, Anish	2746	Gukesh D	2766	1/2-1/2	23	Saint Louis	27 Aug 2024
50	Caruana, Fabiano	2793	Gukesh D	2766	1/2-1/2	60	Saint Louis	26 Aug 2024