Divith, who has a FIDE rating of 1784 points currently, won four matches on the trot, including the last two against higher-rated opponents
Shooter Manu Bhaker won two bronze medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics while Gukesh was crowned the World Chess Champion in Singapore, last month.
Hundreds of students from the Velammal Vidyalaya, the school where Gukesh studies, lined up at the airport at least one hour before his flight landed to greet the 17-year-old chess prodigy.
Caruana became the sole leader and also got back to number two in live world rankings.
With all games ending in draws, the lead positions remained unchanged and Gukesh continued to be at the top of the tables along with Fabiano Caruana of United States who drew a keenly contested game against Nodirbek Abdusattorov of Uzbekistan.
Gukesh's journey wasn't easy as his family dug into their savings and also turned to crowd-funding to fuel his dream.
'It is not just D Gukesh, Arjun Erigaisi, Praggnanandhaa and Vidit Gujrathi.' 'There are another 20 players just behind them. Nobody imagined this was possible 5 years ago.'
'It is truly unfathomable how this kid would come from a country with no chess culture and not only become World Champion, but inspire generations of Indian kids to push chess forward. The legend, @vishy64theking!'
Three of the four Indian Open team players are in line for gold and silver medals for the individual performance.
Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa crashed through the defenses of compatriot Vidit Gujrathi but D Gukesh suffered a shock defeat from a position of strength against Czech Republic's David Navara of in the fifth round of the Prague Masters in Prague.
Erigaisi posts 1st win in Chennai GM chess championship
The triumph entitles Gukesh a clash against reigning world champion Ding Liren of China in the last quarter of the year.
Grandmaster D Gukesh endured a heartbreak in the final tie-breaker against Wei Yi of China and had to be content with a joint second place finish at the Tata Steel Masters chess tournament in Wijk Aan Zee, The Netherlands.
China's Ding Liren stormed back in fine fashion with a victory against Gukesh Dommaraju in Game 12 of the World Chess Championship 2024 to level the match at 6-6.
Gukesh follows in the footsteps of Anand, the only other Indian to win the Candidates
Indian Grandmaster D Gukesh, 18, has claimed a historic victory over defending World Champion Ding Liren in the 14th game of the World Chess Championship in Singapore on Thursday.
With nine rounds still to come in the blitz event, Wei Yi has amassed 20.5 points with seven wins on the first day of blitz. Ending the day with 7.5 out of a possible nine, Yi, seems like a man possessed and unless a hurricane hits him, is poised to win the first leg of the Grand Chess Tour.
Grandmaster D Gukesh threw one salvo after another to beat world No. 1 Magnus Carlsen of Norway, Levon Aronian of Armenia and eventually reigning world champion Ding Liren of China on the first day of the Weissenhaus Chess Challenge that got underway in Wangels (Germany).
World Championship challenger D Gukesh bounced back from a sedate start to defeat compatriot R Praggnanandhaa and Germany's Vincent Keymer before holding world No. 1 Magnus Carlsen after round six of the Superbet rapid and blitz tournament in Warsaw on Friday.
Grandmaster Dommaraju Gukesh played out a hard-fought draw yet again, signing peace with top seed and local favourite Fabiano Caruana.
Sitting at tied fourth, Grandmasters R Praggnanandhaa and D Gukesh will have some catching up to do if they want to finish on the podium with four rounds remaining in the ongoing Prague Masters Chess tournament in Prague.
Vidit Gujrathi also put an end to his losses by settling for a draw with Caruana.
The Indians were never the favourites in the entire scheme of things but yet, Gukesh has withstood the early storm and so has Praggnanandhaa.
Anish's emergence comes as India witnesses an exciting era in chess, with young talents like Erigaisi, R Praggnanandhaa, and D Gukesh shine internationally.
Grandmaster R Pragnanandhaa held tournament leader and defending champion Anish Giri of Holland to a draw on the day.
Gukesh won't challenge Liren on home turf; Singapore wins bid for World Championships match
Gukesh to clash with Alireza on what promises to be a photo finish
World Championship challenger Dommaraju Gukesh survived by the skin of his teeth against compatriot Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa.
D Gukesh admires the way charismatic former India skipper MS Dhoni and iconic tennis player Novak Djokovic
Having lost three and drawn three coming into the third and final day of rapid, Praggnanadhaa lost to Lenier Dominguez of the US in the seventh round.
The sixth game of the World Chess Championship between India's D Gukesh and China's Ding Liren ended in a draw.
Overjoyed by India's remarkable dual triumph at the Chess Olympiad, five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand said that while this marks a promising beginning, there is still much work to be done for women's chess in the country.
After the draw with Iranian turned French player Firouza, Gukesh has seven points for his sole second spot.
Gujrathi, who was a part of India's gold-winning campaign in the Chess Olympiad recently, says the sport's ecosystem needs a major overhaul to ensure players have more balance in life.
The 17-year-old Gukesh is in joint lead with Russia's Ian Nepomniachtchi.
With five points in his kitty from eight games, D Gukesh jointly leads the standings with Anish Giri of Holland.
'Today, let us reaffirm our commitment to strive to realise Gandhiji's dreams. His watchwords, truth and nonviolence, will continue to remain relevant for the whole world. He also taught us that rights and duties are but the two sides of the coin - indeed, the true source of rights is duty. Today we recall his lessons in compassion too - compassion not only for our human neighbours but also for our other neighbours, namely, flora and fauna, rivers and mountains.'
With seven rounds still to come in the first super tournament of the year, Anish Guru maintained his sole lead on 4.5 points out of a possible six and he is now trailed by Iranian turned Frenchman Firouza Alireza who is on 4 points.
The India No.1 D Gukesh scored his first win of the event, beating GM Rinat Jumabayev.
Erigaisi may have had to work harder but the Indian youngster, who is currently World number four, was never quite away from winning his game.