Dommaraju Gukesh’s win will accelerate India’s chess ambitions
The youngest-ever world champion is part of a bigger country-wide trend
On December 16th throngs of fans waited outside Chennai airport to cheer Dommaraju Gukesh, the 18-year-old world chess champion, on his return to his home city. Mr Gukesh is the youngest ever person to win the title. His triumph demonstrates India’s growing ambitions in chess—and is being seen as a symbol of its growing geopolitical clout. This month Narendra Modi, the prime minister, will meet Mr Gukesh, whom he praised for inspiring “millions of young minds to dream big and pursue excellence”.
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This article appeared in the Asia section of the print edition under the headline “Grandmaster flash”
From the December 21st 2024 edition
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