D Gukesh reveals ‘the first time’ he met Viswanathan Anand, mentions ‘cool moment in school’ with chess legend

D Gukesh scripted history in December last year, when he became the youngest-ever world chess champion in history. The 18-year-old defeated Ding Liren at the World Chess Championship in Singapore to achieve the feat. After the win, the Indian GM took part at the Tata Masters in Wijk aan Zee in January, but lost to R Praggnanandhaa in the tie-breaker title deciding round. He was also in action at the recently concluded Weissenhaus Freestyle Chess Grand Slam event, where he finished in eighth position.

Gukesh’s historic win in Singapore sent social media into a state of frenzy as fans, chess legends took to X to congratulate. But Gukesh’s win was also downplayed by the likes of Magnus Carlsen and Vladimir Kramnik, who felt that the level of the Championship was low and criticised Liren’s blunder.

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Despite the criticism, Gukesh received support from Viswanathan Anand. Gukesh is also in collaboration with WestBridge-Anand Chess Academy. WACA is a partnership between Anand and WestBridge Capital. Anand is India’s first-ever world chess champion, having won the title five times, and is also a two-time World Rapid Chess champion and two-time Chess World Cup winner.

When did D Gukesh meet Viswanathan Anand for the first time?

Anand is known to be a pillar in Indian chess, for his support to aspiring players, and is known to have played a crucial role in the careers of the likes of Gukesh, R Praggnanandhaa. Speaking to Freestyle Chess, Gukesh opened up on his first meeting with Anand.

“The first time I met Vishy sir was, met maybe a strong word, but he had come to my school (Velammal Vidyalaya in Chennai), and I was one of the students, who kind of welcomed him or something like that. That was a cool moment,” he said.

Gukesh will also be in action at the Paris Freestyle Grand Slam event, which is scheduled for April. He will be leading a three-member strong Indian contingent, also consisting of Arjun Erigaisi and Praggnanandhaa. After his winless run at Weissenhaus, he will be hoping to put in a better display against the likes of Vincent Keymer and Magnus Carlsen.