New Delhi: Russian chess great Garry Kasparov doffed his hat to D Gukesh for surpassing him in becoming the youngest world champion, saying that the Indian has “summitted the highest peak of all” and critics counting the blunders should know that no previous match has been without mistakes.
The 18-year-old Gukesh claimed the title by beating China’s Ding Liren in Singapore Thursday.
In the process, he bettered Kasparov’s record of being the youngest world champion which the Russian created in 1985 by dethroning Anatoly Karpov as a 22-year-old.
“He has summitted the highest peak of all: making his mother happy,” Kasparov posted on X.
“Gukesh impressively surmounted every obstacle and opponent in his path, especially considering his age, and nothing more can be asked,” he said.
Kasparov is among the chess greats who feel that the world championship in its traditional form ended after world number one Magnus Carlsen decided against defending his crown in 2023.
But the 61-year-old said “that is not the story today”.
The multiple-time former world champion, who is now a political activist based in New York, also differed with his contemporary Vladimir Kramnik, who said that given the many blunders that were committed in the match marked the ‘end of chess as we know it’ and that both players were “disappointing”.
“The level of play was quite high, at least equal to the previous match. Ding showed great resistance. As for the blunders, which world championship, or world champion, was without them? I had my share, and recall the double blunder in Carlsen-Anand 2014, g6. Matches take a toll,” Kasparov reasoned.
“Gukesh was well-prepared and the player who played the best won the match. His victory caps a phenomenal year for India. Combined with Olympiad dominance, chess has returned to its cradle and the era of “Vishy’s children” is truly upon us!” he quipped.
Kasparov called India a nation with an unlimited pool of human talent.
“The future is bright not only in chess. The summit has been reached and now the goal must be to raise it even higher for the next ascent. Congratulations again. Upward!” he said.
PTI
