The teenage sensation, world number 20, became the youngest player to beat world champion Magnus Carlsen in October last year.
D Gukesh. (FIDE official website)
India’s Grandmaster Dommaraju Gukesh on Monday, 10 April, won the World Chess Armageddon Asia & Oceania event in Germany’s capital Berlin.
The 16-year-old Chennai prodigy defeated former world rapid chess champion Nodirbek Abdusattorov of Uzbekistan.
The teenage sensation, world number 20, became the youngest player to beat world champion Magnus Carlsen in October last year.
“This whole tournament was a new format. Even when he lost the first match of the finals, he knew he had a chance. He stayed determined and looks to come back. That’s in his character as well,” Gukesh’s coach Vishnu Prasanna told South First.
As Gukesh secured the first elite event win in the faster time controls, the two finalists divided £50,000 (₹44.64 lakh) and two spots in the armageddon grand finale to be played in September this year.
In a topsy-turvy summit clash, Gukesh emerged the winner in the second match of the finals.
Since the tournament was a double-elimination event, Gukesh got a second opportunity after losing to Abdusattorov in the first match of the Finals by 1.5-0.5.
In the second match, he defeated Nodirbek by the same score: 1.5-0.5.
The matches consisted of two blitz games and, if necessary, an armageddon game (five minutes for White, four for Black) on each day of the tournament.
An armageddon game is a variant of blitz chess to determine a winner after a series of drawn games.
A drawn game in armageddon is counted as a win for black pieces.
A total of eight players, including Gukesh and Nodirbek, participated in the tournament.
These included former world classical champion Vladimir Kramnik and Daniil Dubov (Russia), Yangyi Yu (China), Vidit Gujrathi and Karthikeyan Murali (both India), and Param Maghsoodloo (Iran)
In his run to the finals, Gukesh defeated Nodirbek on Day Four. After that, he triumphed over the 14th World Champion in history, Vladimir Kramnik, 2-1.
“Glad to win the thrilling event Armageddon championship series 2023-Asia and Oceania group by theworldchess! Big relief to finally win a faster time control elite event & enjoyed plenty of new experiences the way the event was played amidst lights, makeup stuff [sic],” Gukesh posted on social media after winning the Armageddon Asia & Oceania event.
Glad to win the thrilling event Armageddon championship series 2023 -Asia and Oceania group by @theworldchess !
Big relief to finally win a faster time control elite event & enjoyed plenty of new experiences the way event was played amidst lights,makeup stuff😂
P.C Max Avdeev pic.twitter.com/pyO9feLlbX— Gukesh D (@DGukesh) April 9, 2023
Expressing happiness with the result, Gukesh’s coach Vishnu Prasanna denied preparing anything specific for the tournament.
“He was trying to play speed chess also better as compared to classical. So we tried some simpler openings as it’s online based. He was keen on doing well in such events. Before that, he was only focussing on classical,” he said.
Vice-President of Tamil Nadu Chess Association Anantharam R told South First, “It’s an outstanding achievement as the tournament was held for the first time ever. He is currently world number 20 and I am sure he will break into the top 10 soon.”
Former world champion Viswanathan Anand, who also trains Gukesh, applauded the young GM’s achievement.
“Congratulations @DGukesh. An excellent achievement especially in a different time control. Proud to see our @WacaChess mentee make us proud again [sic],” Anand posted on social media.
Congratulations @DGukesh . An excellent achievement especially in a different time control. Proud to see our @WacaChess mentee make us proud again https://t.co/JahzzKZKrq
— Viswanathan Anand (@vishy64theking) April 10, 2023
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