Skip to main content
    Gukesh Dommaraju
    2025. Photo: Frans Peeters, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

    18THWorld chess champion · current

    Gukesh Dommaraju

    Gukesh Dommaraju has been world champion 2024 to today, for 2 years. He won the title in 2024, beating Ding Liren 7½–6½ in Singapore.

    Born
    29 May 2006 (age 20) · Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
    Learned chess
    Learned at seven, then began structured one-hour sessions three times a week
    Profiles
    FIDE World Chess MuseumFIDE ratingsWikipedia
    2 years
    World champion
    1 of 1
    Title events won or kept
    2794
    Peak FIDE rating, Oct 2024
    2787
    On today's scale: 18th of 18

    Every title event

    YearOpponentScoreResultGamesWhere
    2024Ding Liren7½–6½Won+3 −2 =9Singapore

    Across 1 title match, Gukesh won 3 games, lost 2 and drew 9: a score of 53.6% of the points against the best player of his day.

    Scores are listed winner first; a dash means the match wasn't played or was a tournament. Games are won, lost and drawn (+ − =) from Gukesh's side, counted from chessgames.com and shown only where they add up to the official score. Source: Wikipedia, List of World Chess Championships.

    Honours

    1
    World championship titles

    2024

    1
    Candidates wins

    2024

    1
    Olympiad team golds

    2024

    2
    Olympiad board golds

    2022, 2024

    Each year links to its source. World championship titles are title events won or kept. Olympiad board golds are the best score on a board. Most of these events didn't exist before the 1920s.

    Compare all 18 champions' honours

    Impact at home: India

    • HonoursHis 2024 title made him the youngest undisputed world champion, breaking Kasparov's record source
    • PlayersIn September 2023 he passed Anand as India's top-rated player: the first time in 37 years Anand wasn't India's No. 1 source
    • InstitutionsWon team and individual gold at the 45th Chess Olympiad in 2024 source
    • HonoursThe youngest-ever winner of the Candidates Tournament (2024) source

    India had 85 grandmasters when Gukesh became world champion in 2024. By October 2026 it had 96.

    Measure2024when he became champion2026October 2026
    Grandmasters8596
    In the world top 10011 Jan 2024 list13 Nov 2026 list

    India grandmasters, 1983–2026

    0204060801001990200020102020Gukesh champion

    Move over the chart to see any year.

    Grandmasters by the year FIDE gave the title, from Wikipedia's list of all 2,162 grandmasters (October 2026). Top 100 from FIDE's rating lists (OlimpBase to 2001, then FIDE); FIDE's lists begin in 1971. These numbers show what happened around each champion, not what he caused: many things grow a country's chess.

    Rivalries

    Ding v GukeshTitle event 2024

    4 wins11 draws · 19 games4 wins

    Gukesh v SindarovTitle match 2026

    1 wins2 draws · 7 games4 wins

    How strong was Gukesh?

    His highest official rating was 2794, on FIDE's Oct 2024 list, as world No. 5: 6th of the 8 champions from Fischer on, whose peaks fall on FIDE's lists.

    That month the best other player was Magnus Carlsen, at 2831: 37 points higher. The top 10 averaged 2784; on today's scale (FIDE's Nov 2026 top 10 average 2777) his peak is about 2787, 18th of the 18 champions. How this is worked out.

    12001400160018002000220024002600280030002014201620182020202220242026Peak 2794 · Oct 2024
    FIDE standard rating on each list where Gukesh Dommaraju was in the world top 100, and FIDE's own monthly record from April 2003. Sources: OlimpBase, FIDE.
    Every month as a table
    FIDE listRating
    Nov 20262710
    Oct 20262710
    Sep 20262703
    Aug 20262703
    Jul 20262717
    Jun 20262732
    May 20262732
    Apr 20262732
    Mar 20262748
    Feb 20262754
    Jan 20262754
    Dec 20252754
    Nov 20252763
    Oct 20252752
    Sep 20252767
    Aug 20252776
    Jul 20252776
    Jun 20252776
    May 20252787
    Apr 20252787
    Mar 20252787
    Feb 20252777
    Jan 20252777
    Dec 20242783
    Nov 20242783
    Oct 20242794
    Sep 20242764
    Aug 20242766
    Jul 20242763
    Jun 20242763
    May 20242763
    Apr 20242743
    Mar 20242747
    Feb 20242743
    Jan 20242725
    Dec 20232720
    Nov 20232746
    Oct 20232758
    Sep 20232758
    Aug 20232751
    Jul 20232744
    Jun 20232736
    May 20232732
    Apr 20232730
    Mar 20232730
    Feb 20232718
    Jan 20232725
    Dec 20222725
    Nov 20222725
    Oct 20222732
    Sep 20222726
    Aug 20222699
    Jul 20222684
    Jun 20222675
    May 20222659
    Apr 20222637
    Mar 20222614
    Feb 20222614
    Jan 20222614
    Dec 20212614
    Nov 20212621
    Oct 20212640
    Sep 20212599
    Aug 20212578
    Jul 20212578
    Jun 20212578
    May 20212578
    Apr 20212578
    Mar 20212563
    Feb 20212563
    Jan 20212563
    Dec 20202563
    Nov 20202563
    Oct 20202563
    Sep 20202563
    Aug 20202563
    Jul 20202563
    Jun 20202563
    May 20202563
    Apr 20202563
    Mar 20202563
    Feb 20202542
    Jan 20202542
    Dec 20192547
    Nov 20192544
    Oct 20192520
    Sep 20192535
    Aug 20192528
    Jul 20192520
    Jun 20192543
    May 20192533
    Apr 20192536
    Mar 20192529
    Feb 20192508
    Jan 20192497
    Dec 20182466
    Nov 20182457
    Oct 20182456
    Sep 20182453
    Aug 20182440
    Jul 20182433
    Jun 20182431
    May 20182426
    Apr 20182401
    Mar 20182360
    Feb 20182320
    Jan 20182354
    Dec 20172362
    Nov 20172362
    Oct 20172323
    Sep 20172335
    Aug 20172365
    Jul 20172365
    Jun 20172332
    May 20172283
    Apr 20172260
    Mar 20172260
    Feb 20172184
    Jan 20172236
    Dec 20162236
    Nov 20162252
    Oct 20162175
    Sep 20162032
    Aug 20161974
    Jul 20162092
    Jun 20162056
    May 20162061
    Apr 20162095
    Mar 20162095
    Feb 20162062
    Jan 20162041
    Dec 20152041
    Nov 20151949
    Oct 20151869
    Sep 20151801
    Aug 20151765
    Jul 20151764
    Jun 20151801
    May 20151772
    Apr 20151752
    Mar 20151735
    Feb 20151701
    Jan 20151600
    Dec 20141600
    Nov 20141616
    Oct 20141616
    Sep 20141661
    Aug 20141475
    Jul 20141280
    Jun 20141278
    May 20141278
    Apr 20141253
    Mar 20141253
    Feb 20141256
    Jan 20141297
    Dec 20131303
    Nov 20131303
    Oct 20131305
    Sep 20131291
    Aug 20131291

    The road to the title

    1. 2015

      Asian School Chess Championships[1]

      Won the Under-9 category

      Under-9 title

    2. 2017-03

      34th Cappelle-la-Grande Open[1]

      Earned final IM norm

      Completed all requirements for the International Master title.

    3. 2018-04

      Asian Youth Chess Championship[1]

      Won five gold medals in Under-12 category

      Swept individual and team rapid, blitz, and classical formats.

    4. 2018-11

      World Youth Chess Championship[1]

      Won Under-12 Championship

      Secured the World Under-12 Championship crown.

    5. 2019-01-15

      Grandmaster title[1]

      GM at 12 years, 7 months, 17 days

      Then the second-youngest grandmaster ever, behind Sergey Karjakin

    6. 2022-08

      44th Chess Olympiad (Chennai)[1]

      Board 1 gold medal, 9/11

      Top-board gold at a home Olympiad in Chennai

    7. 2022-09

      FIDE Rating Milestone[1]

      Crossed 2700 rating mark (2726)

      Became the third-youngest player in chess history to cross 2700.

    8. 2023-08

      FIDE Rating Milestone[1]

      Reached Elo 2750

      Broke Magnus Carlsen's record as the youngest player ever to reach 2750.

    9. 2023-09

      FIDE Rating List[1]

      Overtook Anand as India No. 1

      Ended Anand's 37-year unbroken streak as India's top-rated player.

    10. 2024-04

      Candidates Tournament 2024 (Toronto)[1]

      First, 9/14; his only loss was to Firouzja

      The youngest-ever Candidates winner, earning the title match

    11. 2024-09

      45th Chess Olympiad (Budapest)[1]

      Team gold; board 1 gold, 9/10, unbeaten

      Performance rating 3056

    12. 2024-12-12

      World Chess Championship 2024 (Singapore)[1]

      Beat Ding Liren 7½–6½, winning the 14th and final game

      The youngest undisputed world champion, breaking Kasparov's record

    What Gukesh changed about chess

    • strategyA reactive player, known for calculating under time pressure, which often leads to complex tactical battles.[1]
    • trainingHis mentor Anand describes him as having "incredible calculating abilities".[1]

    Achievements

    • 2024-12-12Undisputed World Chess Champion[1]
    • 2024-04Candidates Tournament Champion[1]
    • 2024-09Olympiad 2024: team gold, and board 1 gold with 9/10[1]
    • 2022-0844th Chess Olympiad Board 1 Individual Gold[1]
    • 2023-09Ended Anand's 37-year reign as India No. 1[1]

    Famous games

    • Magnus Carlsen v Gukesh D, Norway Chess 2025 · 0-1[1]

      Carlsen had a big middlegame advantage, but in severe time pressure he blundered a piece; Wikipedia calls it the most famous win of the year.

      Loading the board…

      Game score: chessgames.com

    • Gukesh D v Alireza Firouzja, Candidates Tournament 2024 · 1-0[1]

      A crucial win in the penultimate round that gave Gukesh the sole lead.

      Loading the board…

      Game score: lichess.org

    • Gukesh D v Wei Yi, 45th Chess Olympiad 2024 · 1-0[1]

      An important win for India that received the Olympiad's best game prize.

      Loading the board…

      Game score: chessgames.com

    In his words

    "It took me two days to get over that disappointment. But then, I realised that if Magnus Carlsen - the current No. 1 - could become a world-beater despite not having the youngest-ever GM tag, so can I."[2]
    "It was very important not to sulk over that miss and look ahead."[2]
    "Chess is a sport that requires you to update yourself constantly."[2]

    More on Gukesh Dommaraju

    Quick answers

    When was Gukesh Dommaraju world chess champion?

    2024 to today: 2 years. He won the title in 2024, beating Ding Liren 7½–6½ in Singapore.

    What was Gukesh Dommaraju's highest FIDE rating?

    2794, on FIDE's Oct 2024 list, when he was world No. 5. That is 6th of the 8 champions from Fischer on.

    Sources

    1. [1] en.wikipedia.org: "Gukesh won the Under-9 section of the Asian School Chess Championships in 2015."
    2. [2] timesofindia.indiatimes.com: "It took me two days to get over that disappointment. But then, I realised that if Magnus Carlsen - the current No. 1 - could become a world-beater despite not having the youngest-ever GM tag, so can I."