Five Fascinating Details Regarding the 2024 FIDE World Chess Championship

As the youngest competitor in history, Gukesh hopes to become the second Indian world champion after Viswanathan Anand. The first Chinese world champion, Ding Liren, is defending his title in the meanwhile.

The Equarius Hotel in Singapore hosted the opening of the 2024 FIDE World Chess Championship today. Grandmaster D Gukesh, an 18-year-old Indian chess prodigy, will compete against Ding Liren, the current world champion from China.

Five fascinating facts regarding the 2024 FIDE World Chess Championship are as follows:

1. India is once again on the verge of chess history after a ten-year wait. Apart from the renowned Viswanathan Anand, Gukesh, a young Indian Grandmaster, is the first Indian to contend for the coveted World Chess Championship title. Five-time world champion Anand lost to Magnus Carlsen in his most recent attempt to win the crown in 2014. After dominating the chess world for almost ten years, Carlsen recently chose to withdraw from the championship cycle, making room for fresh competitors. Given that India continues to generate top-tier talent, Gukesh's participation in the World Championship is a momentous occasion for Indian chess.
   
   
2. The 2024 FIDE World Chess Championship has a $2.5 million (about Rs 20.8 crore) prize fund. $200,000 (about Rs 1.67 crore) is awarded for each victory in a traditional game. The stakes, however, increase dramatically if the match goes to tiebreaks. A whopping $1.3 million (Rs 10.83 crore) will be awarded to the final winner, and $1.2 million (Rs 10.1 crore) to the runner-up.
   
   
3. Gukesh Dommaraju, an 18-year-old Indian Grandmaster, made history by earning a spot in the 2024 FIDE World Chess Championship. He is now the youngest player to ever contend for the coveted title thanks to this incredible accomplishment. Early on, Gukesh's extraordinary talent was clear. At 12 years, 7 months, and 17 days, he became the second-youngest Grandmaster in history, thanks to his father's persistent support. His status as a rising star in the chess world was further cemented by his recent victory in the 2024 FIDE Candidates Tournament, when he defeated elite players like Hikaru Nakamura and Alireza Firouzja. Gukesh would become the youngest Classical World Champion in history if he defeated Ding Liren, the current World Champion.
   
   
4. Ding Liren became the first Chinese player to win the prestigious title when he defeated Ian Nepomniachtchi in the 2023 FIDE World Chess Championship. His standing as one of the best chess players in the world was solidified by this accomplishment. Liren has continuously been regarded as one of the best in the world. By breaking the 2800 Elo rating barrier in 2018, he accomplished a noteworthy milestone. Additionally, between 2017 and 2018, he won 100 straight classical chess games, setting an incredible record. According to the FIDE world rankings, he is now ranked 23rd.
   
   
5. Google has released an animated doodle to commemorate the World Chess Championship final between India's D Gukesh and China's Ding Liren, the current champion. In the doodle, which features the colors yellow, red, blue, and white, two chess pieces are switched. While other Google alphabets have been given the shapes of various gaming pieces, the letter G has been anointed king. With a $2.5 million prize up for grabs, this year's competition is the first time in 138 years that two Asian players will face off in the main event.