(Reuters) – Gukesh Dommaraju became the youngest player to win the men’s Candidates chess tournament after a draw against Hikaru Nakamura on a nail-biting final day of the double round robin event in Toronto on Sunday. The 17-year-old grandmaster effectively wrapped up victory in the tournament after American Fabiano Caruana blundered a winning position against Russian Ian Nepomniachtchi to be held to a draw.
Gukesh’s draw with the black pieces put him on 9/14 with Nakamura, Nepomniachtchi and Caruana finishing on 8.5/14.
The youngest winner of a Candidates tournament was Garry Kasparov, who was 20 when he prevailed in 1984, a year before sealing the world champion title against fellow Russian Anatoly Karpov.
Gukesh, who was one of three Indian players in the eight-man Candidates tournament, will face China’s Ding Liren for the title later this year.
World number one Magnus Carlsen, a five-time classical chess world champion, relinquished his title last year, citing a lack of motivation. Tan Zhongyi dominated the women’s tournament and will face fellow Chinese Ju Wenjun for the world title.
