The Indian grandmaster broke Garry Kasparov’s record by winning the Candidates Tournament title in Toronto. He became the youngest challenger for the world title, breaking the record set by the great Garry Kasparov 40 years ago.
Fans were desperate to get a glimpse of Gukesh
Hundreds of students of Velamal Vidyalaya, where Gukesh studies, waited for him at the airport for about an hour. Apart from this, as the time for Gukesh’s flight to land approached, the crowd of fans at the airport kept increasing. This young chess player came out of the airport at around 3 o’clock and was immediately surrounded by the fans present there. Fans garlanded Gukesh and the police had to work hard to get him out safely. Gukesh’s mother Padma, a microbiologist, was also present at the airport to welcome Gukesh along with other family members. As soon as Gukesh saw his mother amidst the crowd, he saw a smile on her face. After this Gukesh hugged his mother. Gukesh’s father Rajnikanth, who is an ANT surgeon by profession but had given up his practice to support him, accompanied Gukesh to Toronto.
‘I was confident that I would win’
Talking to the media outside the airport, Gukesh said, I feel very happy to return home, this is a special achievement. I was in good shape from the beginning of the tournament. I was confident that I would win this tournament and luck also favored me. It is pleasant to see that people are liking chess. I thank the Government of Tamil Nadu, Amma (mother), Appa (father), coach, friends, family, sponsors and my school who helped me a lot in winning this tournament.