By Yosef Bluth, Staff Writer
After an exciting tournament that culminated in the final round, 17-year-old Dommaraju Gukesh has emerged as the victor of the 2024 Candidates Tournament.
Heading into the 13th round, the penultimate round, Gukesh found himself in a three-way tie for first place with Hikaru Nakamura and Ian Nepomniachtchi, while Fabiano Caruana trailed by half a point behind. At this stage, all other contestants were mathematically out of contention for first place. Gukesh and Caruana both won their games, while Nepomniachtchi and Nakamura settled for a draw in their game. Nakamura, Nepomniachtchi, and Caruana were all tied in second place, trailing Gukesh by half a point. Adding to the excitement, the final round saw Nakamura being matched against Gukesh, and Fabiano against Nepomniachtchi.
As the 14th and final round began, Gukesh only needed a draw to guarantee at least a tie for first place, while the other three players all needed a win to have a chance at tying for first. Despite Nakamura’s efforts in his game against Gukesh, Gukesh never gave him an opportunity to gain an advantage. The game ended in a fairly uneventful draw, shifting all eyes to the game between Nepomniachtchi and Caruana.
Their game was a roller-coaster ride. With both players needing a win, the game quickly reached an incredibly complex position, with Caruana gaining an advantage. However, there were many opportunities for both players to make mistakes, and both did. Caruana made the first real mistake, but a mistake by Nepomniachtchi a few moves later once again put Caruana in a winning position. The intense battle raged on for hours, with both players making just enough mistakes that the game stayed close the entire time. Ultimately, Caruana made the final mistake, allowing Nepomniachtchi to neutralize the game and hold Caruana to a draw. With two draws in the final round, the standings after the 14th round remained unchanged: a three-way tie for second at 8.5/14 points, with Gukesh half a point ahead in first at 9/14.
With this win, the 17-year-old Gukesh officially became the youngest person to win the Candidates Tournament and the youngest person to become the World Champion Challenger. His victory earns him the opportunity to play against the current World Champion, Ding Liren, later this year in a chance to claim the championship title.
Gukesh’s win comes as a major surprise. While all three players who finished in second place were expected to be at the top, Gukesh’s presence was unexpected. (My pre-tournament article specifically stated that “he isn’t expected to win.”) However, his performance in the Candidates was very strong, and his overall ranking has reflected that – over the course of the tournament he gained more than 20 ELO points, climbing from number 16 in the world to number six by the end of the tournament. With that jump, he actually passed Ding Liren, who now sits at number seven. The rankings between Gukesh and Liren are incredibly close, only differing by two ELO points. In their upcoming championship, Gukesh will be bringing momentum while Liren will have the advantage in experience, both in years of playing and having already won a championship match. Their match is sure to be an exciting one!