Gukesh Dommaraju facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Gukesh Dommaraju
Gukesh in 2025
Country	India
Born	(2006-05-29) 29 May 2006 (age 19) Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Title	Grandmaster (2019)
World Champion	2024–present
FIDE rating	2563 (June 2025)
Peak rating	2794 (October 2024)
Peak ranking	No. 3 (March 2025)

Gukesh Dommaraju (born on May 29, 2006) is an amazing Indian chess grandmaster. He is also the current World Chess Champion. Gukesh is known as a chess prodigy, which means he was incredibly talented at chess from a very young age.

He is the youngest undisputed world champion ever! He was also the youngest player to reach a FIDE rating of 2750, doing so at age 17. He was the third-youngest to reach 2700 Elo at age 16. Gukesh became a grandmaster when he was just 12 years old. This makes him the third-youngest grandmaster in chess history.

Gukesh started playing chess when he was 7. He won the under-12 title at the World Youth Chess Championship in 2018. He also won many gold medals at the 2018 Asian Youth Chess Championship. He became an International Master in March 2017. On January 15, 2019, at 12 years, 7 months, and 17 days old, he became the second-youngest grandmaster at that time, after Sergey Karjakin. He was part of the Indian team that won a silver medal at the 2022 Asian Games.

Gukesh won a team bronze and an individual gold medal at the 44th Chess Olympiad in 2022. In September 2023, Gukesh became the top-rated Indian player. He broke Viswanathan Anand's record, which had lasted for 37 years! In the 45th Chess Olympiad in 2024, he won both team and individual gold medals. In 2024, he became the youngest winner of the Candidates Tournament. He then beat Ding Liren in the World Chess Championship. This made him the 18th and youngest undisputed world champion, at 18 years and 195 days old.

Early Life and Chess Journey

Birth and Family

Gukesh was born on May 29, 2006, in Chennai, India. His family is from the Telugu community in Andhra Pradesh. His mother, Padmakumari, is a microbiologist (a scientist who studies tiny living things). His father, Rajinikanth, is an ENT surgeon (a doctor for ears, nose, and throat). His father moved to Chennai for his medical career. Gukesh went to Velammal Vidyalaya School in Chennai.

Gukesh's family comes from a village called Chenchuraju Kandriga in Andhra Pradesh. His grandfather, Shankar Raju, worked in the Indian Railways. His father, Rajinikanth, later settled in Chennai. The family still owns land in Chenchuraju Kandriga.

How Gukesh Started Chess

Gukesh learned to play chess in 2013 when he was seven. He started taking structured chess lessons three times a week. He left school after fourth grade to focus completely on his chess career. In 2017, his father also quit his job to travel with Gukesh to tournaments. At this time, Gukesh was supported by his parents' friends. He has often thanked them for their help. His amazing talent was noticed early on. He became one of many young players who benefited from India's strong chess community.

Gukesh's Amazing Career

Early Achievements (2015–2019)

Gukesh won the under-9 section of the Asian School Chess Championships in 2015. In 2018, he won the World Youth Chess Championship in the under-12 group. At the 2018 Asian Youth Chess Championship, he won five gold medals! These were in individual rapid, blitz, and classical games, and in team rapid and blitz competitions. He became an International Master in March 2017.

On January 15, 2019, Gukesh became the second-youngest grandmaster in history. He was 12 years, 7 months, and 17 days old. Only Sergey Karjakin was younger at that time. In June 2021, Gukesh won the Julius Baer Challengers Chess Tour, called the Gelfand Challenge. He scored 14 out of 19 points.

Olympiad Gold and Candidates Qualification (2022–2023)

In August 2022, Gukesh won an individual gold medal at the 44th Chess Olympiad in Chennai. He scored 9 out of 11 points. He was part of the India-2 team that won the bronze medal in the same tournament. In September 2022, he helped the Indian team win a silver medal at the 2022 Asian Games.

In the same month, Gukesh reached a FIDE rating of over 2700 for the first time. His rating was 2726. He became the third-youngest player to do this, after Wei Yi and Alireza Firouzja. In October 2022, Gukesh became the youngest player to beat Magnus Carlsen. Carlsen was the World Chess Champion at that time.

In August 2023, Gukesh became the youngest player ever to reach a rating of 2750. He broke Carlsen's record! At the Chess World Cup 2023 in Baku, he reached the quarterfinals. He lost to Carlsen there. In September 2023, Gukesh passed Viswanathan Anand to become the top-ranked Indian player. This was the first time in 37 years that Anand was not number one!

In December 2023, Gukesh qualified for the 2024 Candidates Tournament. This tournament decides who will challenge Ding Liren for the World Chess Championship. Gukesh finished second in the FIDE Circuit. He got the qualifying spot because Fabiano Caruana, who finished first, had already qualified. Gukesh was the third-youngest player to qualify for a Candidates tournament. Only Bobby Fischer and Carlsen were younger.

Double Olympiad Gold and World Championship (2024–Present)

Gukesh (left) playing Alireza Firouzja at the 2024 Candidates Tournament.

In January 2024, Gukesh tied for first place at the Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2024. He scored 8½ points in 13 rounds. He beat Anish Giri in the semifinals. But he lost to Wei Yi in the finals of the tiebreaker.

In April 2024, Gukesh took part in the Candidates Tournament in Toronto. He won five games. He beat R Praggnanandhaa and Vidit Gujrathi playing as Black. He beat Firouzja playing as White. He also beat Nijat Abasov playing as both Black and White. He only lost one game, against Firouzja. He finished with nine points from 14 rounds to win the tournament. He was the youngest-ever winner of the Candidates tournament!

In September 2024, Gukesh played in the 45th Chess Olympiad in Budapest with the Indian team. He did not lose a single match! He won an individual gold medal, scoring nine points in ten rounds. His excellent play helped India win their first-ever team gold medal at the Olympiad. Because of this win, Gukesh entered the top-five in the FIDE rankings for the first time on October 1, 2024.

The 2024 World Chess Championship was held in November–December 2024. Gukesh played against Ding Liren. Gukesh won three games, Ding won two, and they had nine draws in 14 games. Gukesh won the 14th and final match on December 12, 2024. He won the World Chess Championship with a score of 7½–6½. This win made him the youngest undisputed World Chess Champion. He broke the record that Garry Kasparov held before. FIDE said Gukesh's play was "near-perfect." Ding Liren said it was his best tournament of the year and he had no regrets about losing to Gukesh.

How Gukesh Plays Chess

Gukesh plays a "reactive" game. This means he often responds to his opponent's moves. He is very good at calculating moves quickly, even when he has little time. This often leads to exciting and complex games. His mentor, Viswanathan Anand, says Gukesh has "incredible calculating abilities."

Magnus Carlsen describes Gukesh's style as "pure counter." Carlsen also said that Gukesh makes very few mistakes. This makes him "an extremely dangerous opponent." Some people compare his style to former world champion Anatoly Karpov. Karpov was known for making small, steady gains that slowly trapped his opponents, like an anaconda.

Awards and Recognitions

Gukesh receiving the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award from President Droupadi Murmu on January 17, 2025.

See Also

• Chess in India
• List of Indian chess players
• List of chess grandmasters