Dommaraju Gukesh triumphed in a thrilling final round at the Candidates Tournament in Toronto. The Indian talent, who is still just 17 years old, thereby qualifies to face Ding Liren in a match for the world championship. He is by far the youngest in history to reach this milestone: Kasparov was 20 years old; Carlsen was 22.
One could hardly have scripted a more dramatic 14th round, in which four players remained in contention for tournament victory. Gukesh held a half-point lead over the field, but had the black pieces against Hikaru Nakamura, who would have overtaken him with a win. On the adjacent board Fabiano Caruana played White against Ian Nepomniachtchi, and a win for either player would propel them into a tiebreak for first place (provided that Gukesh did not also win his game).
As it was, Gukesh held his nerve and secured the draw in a game which was fought down to bare kings.
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