Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Friday announced a cash prize of Rs 5 crore for D. Gukesh in recognition of his remarkable achievement of becoming the youngest World Chess Champion. Chennai-based Grandmaster Gukesh on Thursday became the youngest world chess champion at 18 years after beating title-holder Ding Liren of China in the 14th and last game of the title showdown in Singapore.
“To honour the monumental achievement of @DGukesh, the youngest-ever World Chess Champion, I am delighted to announce a cash prize of Rs 5 crore!” Stalin said in a tweet.
To honour the monumental achievement of @DGukesh, the youngest-ever World Chess Champion, I am delighted to announce a cash prize of ₹5 crore!
His historic victory has brought immense pride and joy to the nation. May he continue to shine and achieve greater heights in the… pic.twitter.com/3h5jzFr8gD
— M.K.Stalin (@mkstalin) December 13, 2024
“His historic victory has brought immense pride and joy to the nation. May he continue to shine and achieve greater heights in the future.”
Gukesh became only the second Indian to clinch the coveted prize after the iconic Viswanathan Anand, who owned the crown five times in his career. Gukesh secured the requisite 7.5 points as against 6.5 of his Chinese rival after winning the 14th and last classical time control game of the match that seemed headed for a draw for most part.
As winner, he will walk away with a whopping $1.3 million (approximately Rs 11.03 crore) from the $2.5 million prize purse. That brings his total up to more than Rs 16 crore in cash rewards.
Gukesh acknowledged the hardships his parents had to go through in his formative years. “We were not a very well-off family, so they had to face a lot of financial struggles. But I didn’t do it at that time. At some point in 2017 and 2018, we were running so low on money that my parents’ friends sponsored me.
“My parents had to make many lifestyle changes just for me to play tournaments. They made the most sacrifices,” he had said after the victory.
But having wholehearted support is one thing as tremendous personal discipline is needed to succeed at the highest level because chess is a cold and lonely sport.
Rajnikanth, his father, had moved away from the lucrative career as an ENT surgeon to travel with his son, as Padmakumari, a microbiologist, remained the sole bread-winner of the family.
Viswanathan Anand on Friday asked D. Gukesh to ignore those questioning the standard of the World Championship title showdown with China’s Ding Liren, saying criticism always comes with success.
Former world champion Vladimir Kramnik was not impressed with the quality of chess on display during the match, calling it the ‘end of chess as we know it’. Kramnik expressed his frustration over the game’s quality, calling a critical blunder by Ding Liren ‘childish’.
Five-time world champion, Norway’s Magnus Carlsen too has been critical of the quality on display in earlier rounds, saying, “This does not look like a game between two World Championship contenders. It just looks like maybe the second round or third round of an open tournament.”
However, Anand, the five-time world champion and Gukesh’s mentor, said he saw ‘history being made by Gukesh’. “I feel very happy. I was literally watching history being made yesterday,” Anand told PTI Videos.
“It (criticism) comes with every match. To be honest, I think it just comes with the territory. You ignore it and that’s all. You know Gukesh’s achievement, the whole qualification, everything and his concomitant rise. I mean if you look at the Olympiad, he showed that he’s actually become a much stronger player.
“He won the Candidates this year, so many good results in Toronto and he’s here. So this stuff (criticism) just comes with it. You cannot expect to become world champion and not face some random criticism,” added Anand.
