Gukesh wins Candidates, becomes youngest ever challenger for world title
Toronto (PTI): India's 17-year-old Grandmaster D Gukesh scripted history by winning the Candidates Chess Tournament here to become the youngest ever challenger to the world title, bettering a record created by the legendary Garry Kasparov 40 years ago.
Gukesh played out an easy draw with American Hikaru Nakamura in the 14th and final round to finish with nine out of a possible 14 points in the tournament that is held to decide the challenger to the world champion.
The triumph entitles Gukesh a clash against reigning world champion Ding Liren of China in the last quarter of the year.
The Chennai-based teen bettered Kasparov's record by quite a distance as the Russian great was 22 when he qualified in 1984 to clash with compatriot Anatoly Karpov.
"So relieved and so happy. I was following this crazy game (between Fabio Caruana and Ian Nepomniachtchi), and then I went for a walk with my second (Gregorz Gazevsky), I think that helped," Gukesh said after winning.
Gukesh also won a cash award of 88,500 Euros (approx Rs 78.5 lakh). The total prize fund of the Candidates was 5,00,000 Euros.
He became only the second Indian after the great Viswanathan Anand to win the prestigious tournament. Five-time world champion Anand's triumph came in 2014.
"Congratulations to @DGukesh for becoming the youngest challenger. The @WacaChess family is so proud of what you have done . I'm personally very proud of how you played and handled tough situations. Enjoy the moment," Anand posted on 'X' to congratulate the youngster, who like him, also hails from Chennai.
Needing at least a draw, Gukesh gave nothing away to Nakamura, a clear signal that the teenager is ready for the big stage and is going to be the next biggest star in the chess world.
The black pieces did not matter much as Nakamura was at sea in the Queen's Gambit Accepted and did not find any ways to pursue playing for an advantage.
Gukesh won a pawn and Nakamura had to find the path to equality in the ensuing rook and opposite coloured Bishops endgame. The game lasted till move 71 but the result was never in doubt.
With Gukesh ending on 9 points, all eyes were on the match between American Caruana and Russia's Nepomniachtchi.
The American outplayed Nepomniachtchi right from the opening and enjoyed a nearly winning position for several moves.
However, the clock did the talking here as Caruana blundered on 39th move to allow a playable position.
Things were far from over though, Caruana built his position all over again and was close to winning a second time when again his clock deceived him and he failed to find the correct continuation.
The resulting position was a drawn queen and pawns endgame where Caruana kept pressing to no avail.
Had any of these two players won, the tournament would have needed a tie-break as Gukesh and the winner would have ended up in joint lead.
Caruana, Nepomniachtchi and Nakamura all ended on an identical 8.5 points for the shared second place while Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa ended fifth on seven points defeating Nijat Abasov of Azerbaijan.
Vidit Gujrathi played out a quick draw with Firouzja Alireza of France in the final round to end on the sixth spot with six points in all.
Alireza finished seventh on five points while Abasov ended last on 3.5 points in all.
Gukesh has been making waves for a while now after becoming the third youngest in chess history to earn the Grandmaster title at the age of 12.
Last year, he won a silver medal at the Hangzhou Asian Games.
The dates and venue for the world championship are yet to be finalised.
Results final round (Indians unless specified):
Hikaru Nakamura (USA, 8.5) drew with D Gukesh (9); Fabiano Caruana (USA, 8.5) drew with Ian Nepomniachtchi (FIDE, 8.5); Nijat Abasov (Aze, 3.5) lost to R Praggnanandhaa (7); Firouza Alireza (Fra, 5) drew with Vidit Gujrathi (6). Final standings: 1. D Gukesh 2-4: Nakamura, Nepomniachtchi, Caruana 5. Pragnanandhaa 6. Gujrathi 7. Alireza 8. Abasov.
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Plane veers off runway, catches fire at South Korean airport with reports of 28 dead
Seoul (AP): A plane with malfunctioning landing gear veered off the runway, hit a fence and caught fire on Sunday at an airport in southern South Korea, killing at least 28 people, according to the emergency office and local media.
The emergency office said the fire was almost put out and rescue officials were trying to remove passengers from the Jeju Air passenger plane at the airport in the southern city of Muan. It said the plane with about 180 people was returning from Bangkok.
South Korean media outlets including Yonhap news agency reported that at least 28 people had died in the fire. The Muan Fire Station said it couldn't immediately confirm the casualty reports. It said emergency workers pulled out at least two passengers.
Yonhap reported the plane veered off the runway and collided with a fence. Emergency officials said they were examining the exact cause of the fire.
Local TV stations aired footage showing thick pillows of black smoke billowing from the plane engulfed with flame.
Deputy Prime Minister Choi ordered officials to employ all available resources to rescue the passengers and crew, according to Yonhap news agency.
BREAKING: Video shows crash of Jeju Air Flight 2216 in South Korea. 181 people on board pic.twitter.com/9rQUC0Yxt8
— BNO News (@BNONews) December 29, 2024
