The Indian chess prodigy Dommaraju Gukesh has made history by becoming the youngest challenger ever for the world chess title. His shot at the world championship comes after a sensational victory at the prestigious men’s Candidates chess tournament in Toronto last weekend. ‘I am so relieved and so happy’, he told reporters in his trademark calm and understated manner. The 17-year-old will play China’s Ding Liren, the reigning champion, for the world title later this year. The face-off between the two will be the latest twist in a growing geopolitical rivalry: a longstanding border dispute (that led to war in 1962) came to a head again four years ago, when Indian and Chinese troops clashed in the Himalayas. Both are nuclear nations and have ambitions to be the superpower in Asia.
Gukesh is breaking record after record. The previous youngest winner of the men’s Candidates tournament was Garry Kasparov, who was 20 when he triumphed in 1984. Gukesh
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