India’s D Gukesh held USA’s Hikaru Nakamura to a draw in the final round as he emerged as the winner of the FIDE Candidates 2024 tournament in Toronto, Canada on Monday.
Gukesh blunted the offence from Nakamura, who was with white pieces, to add the draw and half-a-point to his tally and move to 9 points at the top of the table
The Indian’s title hopes then rested on the match between Ian Nepomniachtchi and Fabiano Caruana, with a win for either one of them taking the tournament into a playoff.
The match eventually ended in a draw, making Gukesh the youngest winner of the Candidates tournament. The 17-year-old also became the second Indian, after Viswanathan Anand, to qualify for a World Championship final in the classical format.
Gukesh had entered the competition as the third youngest player in the tournament history -- after Bobby Fischer and Magnus Carlsen -- and was not considered among the favourites for the title by many.
The Indian teenager though was incredibly composed throughout the tournament, winning five games and losing just one -- against France’s Alireza Firouzja -- on the way to a historic title win.
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