The image of a smiling D Gukesh standing with outstretched hands will forever be embossed in the memory of a nation of billions.
Former world champion Viswanathan Anand hailed the young GM's achievement.
Indian Grandmaster Vidit Gujrathi held World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen to a draw in the 11th round of the Tata Steel Masters chess tournament
Vantika Agrawal delivered when it mattered most as she defeated Grandmaster Irina Krush, helping India secure a 2-2 draw against United States.
India's D Gukesh outplayed Ding Liren to seize a 6-5 lead in the World Chess Championship final
'There are several talented players like R Vaishali, Divya Deshmukh, Vantika Agrawal, so the future is certainly bright.'
Indian Grandmaster D Gukesh held on to the joint top spot with Russian Ian Nepomniachtchi after they played out an easy draw in the 10th round of the Candidates chess tournament in Toronto.
Liem Le scored an emphatic 2.5-0.5 win over the teenaged Indian GM, securing victories in games two and three after the opener ended in a draw.
Young Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa on Friday called for a robust financial backing for chess, debunking the common concept that players require minimal monetary support to train and excel in the sport.
Gukesh, Praggnanandhaa, Erigaisi and Vaishali have trained at the Westbridge Anand Chess Academy (WACA) that the bespectacled chess wizard set up four years ago in Chennai. The 18-year-old Gukesh and the 19-year-old Praggnanandhaa have often stated that they would not be where they are without "Vishy sir".
With Georgia likely to post a victory against overnight leader Kazakhstan, it seemed that the Indian eves were likely to regain the top position and become the firm favourites for the gold medal again.
Grand Chess Tour: Teenaged GM Gukesh defeats idol Anand in Rapid segment
Grandmaster Aravindh Chithambaram emerged champion in the 22nd Dubai Open chess tournament in Dubai on Sunday, with 7.5 points as seven Indians finished in the top 10 with R Praggnanandhaa sharing second spot with five others.
R Praggnanandhaa squandered a winning position against Wesley So of America while World Championship challenger D Gukesh settled for a hard-fought draw
After an all-win start on Saturday, Indians on Sunday had a mixed day with both men and women chess players losing to higher-rated opponents in the fourth round in the Asian Games in Guangzhou.
'I like to be challenged by the strongest players on the planet, even though it's going to get more difficult with this young Indian generation coming up. But I am not entirely depressed.'
'It was a big relief to get it out of the way. Now he can concentrate on future progress.'
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.
'With an achievement like this, Gukesh could even be endorsing global brands.'
Pragg, Gujrathi out of contention
Praggnanandhaa is on top of the standings with nine match points along with world No 1 Magnus Carlsen
Harika Dronavalli, a seasoned player, fulfilled her lifelong dream of winning an Olympiad medal after two decades.
Newly-crowned world chess champion D Gukesh is looking forward to the day when the sport will become a part of the Olympic curriculum, which, he said, would take it to an altogether different level not just in India but across the world.
AICF officials are in search of the Gaprindashvili Cup that was won by Indian teams at the 44th Chess Olympiad held in Chennai in 2022.
On current form, D Gukesh is the favourite to win the World Chess Championship title against his Chinese opponent, Ding Liren, believes Indian teenage Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa.
Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa opened his campaign in the FTX Crypto Cup, the American finale of Champions Chess Tour, with a 2.5-1.5 win over the world's top junior player Alireza Firouzja in Miami.
'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!'
Arjun also remained unbeaten through all the nine rounds and finished half a point ahead of Uzbekistan's Javokhir Sindarov.
At the end of the 10th round, the Indian Open team is leading the pack with 19 points and the Women's team is ranked second with 17 points.
Teenaged Indian Grandmaster D Gukesh shot into sole lead after defeating Firouzja Alireza of France in the 13th and penultimate round of Candidates' Chess tournament in Toronto on Saturday, his quest for the extraordinary placing him on the cusp of becoming the youngest ever World Championship contender.
Gukesh tried his hands at the Ruy Lopez as white but did not get much against Praggnanandhaa. Both the teenagers have been showing great skills here against the world's best and there was nothing to choose between them when pieces flew off the board in tandem. The game was drawn in 41 moves.
Anand and Radjabov drew their Classical match in 42 moves in a Guicco Pianissimo game.
The World Chess Championship remained deadlocked as the 10th game between Indian challenger D. Gukesh and defending champion Ding Liren of China ended in yet another draw on Saturday in Singapore.
Young Indian International Master V Pranav finished with 6.5 points after losing to Predke in the final round.
Indian chess players failed to finish on the podium in the individual events
In the women's event, Padmini Rout, R Vaishali and Bhakti Kulkarni posted wins in the first round. D Harika will be joining them in the second round, courtesy a bye in the first round.
D Gukesh admires the way charismatic former India skipper MS Dhoni and iconic tennis player Novak Djokovic
Vidit Gujrathi was around six when he was advised to put his ambition of playing cricket on hold till he was older by a local club.
