Gukesh has arrived, and how!

Pluck, sizzling form and a cool conduct provided just the right mixture for 17-year-old D Gukesh to win the elite eight-player FIDE Candidates 2024 Chess tournament on debut in Canada on Sunday. The Indian scripted history as the youngest ever to win the event and earned the right to play reigning world champion Ding Liren of China for the world title later this year.

Gukesh, apart from R Praggnanandhaa and R Vaishali have been mentored by five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand through the Westbridge Anand Chess Academy (WACA). In an exclusive chat with mid-day, Anand discusses the strengths and merits of Gukesh and how the Candidates panned out in a thrilling and suspenseful way in the last rounds.

Edited excerpts from the interview with the chess great.

On Gukesh winning the Candidates:
I was just being reconciled to witness a tie-break seeing Fabiano Caruana on the winning side, but within seconds, the scenario changed and we could witness history being made. Gukesh has arrived, not just as a Candidate but in every sense of the word. He has stormed into the world's elite [group] and his +4 score (5 wins, 1 loss) in a Candidates is highly impressive. This is a huge result for India and the youth.

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India's Grandmaster D Gukesh during his Round 14 match against Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura of USA in Toronto on Sunday. Pic/PTI; (right) Viswanathan Anand

On what made Gukesh stand apart from others:
I had predicted that in every tournament we have the possibility of rooting for one player or the other from WACA for the next 10 years, since this is an incredibly talented bunch. I honestly didn't expect Gukesh to outperform at this incredible level so soon. The only correct guess I made was that I don't expect him to win but I wouldn't rule out the possibility either. Apart from his game, he coped admirably with all the tension, developments and circumstances during the event. In fact, the most seasoned and experienced campaigners cracked under pressure. This was one steady and consistent performance.

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On this edition of the Candidates:
Obviously, this was the most close and exciting Candidates, more so in the last three rounds when five were in contention; then four in the final round. Victory chances for the top four bunched players were very realistic and incredibly, the top four were pitted against themselves in the last round. The Caruana versus Ian Nepomniachtchi encounter was a dramatic one, which neither will forget very soon. Honestly, Caruana has won much lesser advantageous positions effortlessly. This time, nerves were very difficult to handle for the players, spectators and followers, including me. The entire drama was draining and I just can't imagine what it was like for the players. I am an exhausted spectator.

On himself winning the Candidates twice:
I won for the first time at Las Palmas [Canary Islands] in 1994-95 as a 25-year-old and remember being thrilled about it. I beat Gata Kamsky. We finished a couple of days early [Candidates was a different format then]. I enjoyed the free time, but was more excited at the thought of playing Garry Kasparov for the World title. I was in a different phase of my career while winning in Khanty Mansysk [Russia] in 2014 [had just lost his world title to Magnus Carlsen] and hence, that will always remain as one of the happiest memories of my life.