The most prestigious tournament in chess concluded on April 21 with the 17-year-old Grandmaster Dommaraju Gukesh winning it all. For the first time in the history of the events, both the open and women’s tournaments occurred at the same time in Toronto, Canada. The women’s tournament concluded with the victory of Grandmaster Tan Zhongyi, who previously held the Women’s World Chess Champion title until losing it to Grandmaster Ju Wenjun in 2018.
The success of Gukesh, one of three players representing India in the open tournament, came as a surprise to many, including the top-rated player in the world Grandmaster Magnus Carlsen, who is a former 5-time World Chess Champion. Carlsen did not expect a win from the youngest player in the tournament, and now the youngest to win it.
This is not the end of the road for Gukesh or Tan, who have only secured their chances to dethrone the sitting world champions in matches that have not yet been scheduled. Later this year, Gukesh will face 31-year-old Grandmaster Ding Liren, who plays for China and has been the World Chess Champion since last year. The contest for Women’s World Chess Champion will not happen until next year. Tan has earned an opportunity to reclaim the title from fellow Chinese player and four-time winner Ju.
Both players found success from a combination of calm, principled play and strong prep. Both tournaments had eight players, representing some of the greatest chess talent on the planet. The final result was more certain for Tan, who entered the final round only needing a draw to guarantee the win. Gukesh started the morning of the last day only a half-point, or one draw, ahead of three other players. Close behind were Ian Nepomniachtchi and two players representing the US, Hikaru Nakamura and Fabiano Caruana.
All three of those players are more experienced and were expected to be the primary contenders for the first spot, but the final day of games paired the four leaders off, and none of them could get the edge. Nakamura drew Gukesh, leaving Nepomniachtchi or Caruana in range to force another day in an overall tiebreak. In a fascinating irony, those two also drew against each other, leaving Gukesh in the sole lead overall.
The United States has not seen a player hold the classical World Chess Champion title since Bobby Fischer held it from 1972 until 1975. Though the two Americans in contention in the open tournament were among the highest-seeded to win, another two-year wait is in store for a chance at that outcome.
Tan and Ju have been in this position before, and all eyes are on the extremely young Gukesh, who faces an uphill battle against Ding, the 5th-highest-rated player in the world.
