At the mere age of 18, India's teenage chess prodigy Gukesh Dommaraju has scripted history by becoming the youngest world chess champion. In the final match of a 14-game series held at Singapore, Gukesh locked horns with the current champion of China Ding Liren. This monumental victory also marks the breaking of a long-standing record by Gukesh set by Garry Kasparov, who held the title since 1985 when he won it at the age of just 22.

The championship finale was of great interest: indeed, unlike the earlier games, in the decisive game 14, Gukesh scored an important victory while playing with the blacks. Although it appeared that Ding was holding a good position, he could not keep up the psychological pressure and made a big mistake, allowing Gukesh to win with a final score of 7.5-6.5.

Net Worth of Gukesh Dommaraju

His victory bore him an attractive prize money of ₹ 11.45 crores while Ding Liren pocketed ₹ 9.75 crores. Each game victory in the series came with a reward of ₹1.69 crore, and Gukesh’s three wins in the 3rd, 11th, and 14th games added ₹5.07 crore to his earnings. As stated by News18, in just 17 days, the prize money has gone as high as a whopping ₹17 crore.

If Gukesh's earlier tournament prize money and income from endorsements are combined, his total income is above ₹20 crore. Before this particular prize, Gukesh had earned ₹8.26 crore career-wise, which adds to his rise in the international chess scene incredibly fast. With this, he has reached over ₹25 crore net worth, making him one of the richest players in chess.

Road to Championship

The Youngest Gukesh secured a berth in the World Championship, thanks to his glorious victory in the most popular Candidates Tournament-April. This, besides being a championship of classical format, is a long, tough trial of 14 rounds. This year, it's more meaningful because Magnus Carlsen, the title holder from 2013 to 2022, chose not to defend his title due to a lack of motivation.

Gukesh's victory in history heralds the dawn of a new era in chess with regard to the history it has created and inspiration it has brought about for all upcoming aspirants.