As winner of the FIDE 2024 World Championship Candidates Tournament, 17-year-old chess grandmaster from Chennai, India, Dommaraju Gukesh must now prepare to face world champion Ding Liren from China later this year.
If he wins, he will become the youngest ever world chess champion, breaking the record set by Russian Garry Kasparov at age 22, in 1985.
The Candidates Tournament identifies challengers for the World Championship title in both the Open and the Women’s sections. Chinese grandmaster Tan Zhongyi, 33, who won the Women’s section, will face her compatriot Ju Wenjun.
The 2024 Candidates Tournament was the first time the Women’s section was played alongside the Open, or the Men’s section. And it was the first time a brother and sister, Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa and his sister Vaishali, of India, participated together. Rameshbabu is ranked 14th in the ELO live FIDE ratings and Vaishali is 13th in the Women’s category.
In local chess, the National Women’s Championship began yesterday at the National Racquet Centre. The reigning Under-14 Women’s champion Aditi Joshi of Queen’s College won the Qualifiers for the Championship with an almost perfect score. She conceded a draw only to Ciel Clement, her schoolmate, in the seven-round tournament. I was surprised when Aditi got past Shazeeda Rahim who is about one of the strongest female players in Guyana. The prize for the winner of the National Championship is to reign as national champion and to solidify participation at the 2024 Chess Olympiad in Budapest, Hungary.
Chess game
White: Nijat Abasov
Black: Dommaraju Gukesh
Event: 2024 World Championship Candidates Tournament, Toronto, Canada, April 18
Type of Game: Nimzo-Indian Defence, Classical Variation
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 h6 5. Nf3 c5 6. dxc5 Na6 7. g3 Nxc5 8. Bg2 Nce4 9. O-O Nxc3 10. bxc3 Bc5 11. e4 Nh7 12. e5 Rb8 13. Nd2 b6 14. Ne4 Bb7 15. h4 Qc7 16. Rd1 Bxe4
17. Qxe4 O-O 18. Bf4 Rfd8 19. Rd2 Nf8 20. h5 b5 21. cxb5 Rxb5 22. Bf1 Rb6 23. Rad1 Rdb8 24. a4 Rb3 25. Rd3 Ra3 26. Rf3 Qc6 27. Qxc6 dxc6
28. Rfd3 Rxa4 29. Bg2 Ra2 30. R1d2 Rxd2 31. Rxd2 Rc8 32. Be4 a5 33. Bc2 g5 34. hxg6 Nxg6 35. Kg2 Kg7 36. Ba4 Ne7 37. c4 Rb8 38. Ra2 Bb4 39. Kf3 Rd8 40. Be3 Rd3 41. Ke2 Rc3 42. c5 Nd5 43. Rc2 Rxc2+
44. Bxc2 a4 45. Kd3 a3
46. Bb3 Kg6 47. Bd4 Kg5
48. Kc4 Be1 49. Kd3 Kg4
50. Bd1+ Kg5 51. Bb3 Kf5
52. Kc4 Ke4 53. Bd1 a2
54. F3+ Kf5 55. Bc2+ Kg5
56. Bb3 Bxg3 57. Bxa2 h5
0-1. White resigns.
