What Beginners Can Learn from Gukesh's Rise
From a 2300-rated twelve-year-old to the youngest World Chess Champion in history at eighteen - lessons from Gukesh Dommaraju's extraordinary journey.
Published 2026-02-01 | Last verified 2026-02-14
Professor Archer says: When Gukesh won the World Championship in December 2024 at just eighteen years old, he shattered Garry Kasparov's thirty-nine-year-old record. But what I find most instructive is what happened before the title. His coach, GM Vishnu Prasanna, deliberately kept him away from chess engines until after he became a grandmaster. He was trained to think for himself first. That is a lesson every beginner should take to heart.
From Chennai to World Champion
Dommaraju Gukesh was born on May 29, 2006, in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. His father Rajinikanth is an ENT surgeon and his mother Padmakumari is a microbiologist. He learned chess at age seven, and by twelve he had earned the Grandmaster title, making him the second-youngest GM in history at the time, behind only Sergey Karjakin.
His rise was breathtakingly fast. In July 2017, when coach GM Vishnu Prasanna began working with him, Gukesh was rated around 2300. Within two months, he scored his first IM norm. By January 2019, he was a Grandmaster. By August 2023, at seventeen, he became the youngest player ever to reach a 2750 FIDE rating, breaking Magnus Carlsen's record. By September 2023, he had surpassed Viswanathan Anand as the top-rated Indian player.
The defining moment came in December 2024, when Gukesh defeated reigning champion Ding Liren 7.5-6.5 in Singapore to become the eighteenth World Chess Champion at eighteen years and six months, shattering Kasparov's record by more than four years.
The Dramatic Game 14
The final game of the 2024 World Championship was one of the most dramatic in chess history. With the match tied 6.5-6.5, Gukesh had the black pieces. The position appeared headed for a draw, which would have forced tiebreaks. Then, on move 55, Ding Liren played 55.Rf2, offering a rook trade at a moment when his bishop was trapped in a corner. After the rook exchange, the resulting king-and-pawn endgame was winning for Gukesh.
Gukesh recognized the error before his opponent did and was visibly stunned. Ding resigned three moves later, later saying he was totally in shock when he realized his mistake. After the game, Gukesh said he had been dreaming about this moment since he was six or seven years old.
For beginners, the lesson from Game 14 is profound: even at the very highest level, games are decided by mistakes. Staying alert and composed until the very end is a skill that matters at every rating level.
Lessons You Can Apply to Your Own Chess
- Think for yourself before consulting engines - One of the most remarkable aspects of Gukesh's training is that his coach deliberately kept him away from chess engines until after he earned the GM title. Prasanna believed that early engine dependence could be harmful to development. Gukesh was trained to analyze positions independently, building deep understanding before using AI to verify. Apply this principle: always form your own assessment of a position before checking the engine.
- Prepare with purpose - Gukesh is known for thorough preparation before every game. At the 2024 Candidates Tournament in Toronto, he won five games and lost only one, finishing first out of eight elite players to become the youngest-ever Candidates winner. While you may not have a team of seconds, you can prepare by studying your opponent's recent games on free online platforms. Even twenty minutes of targeted preparation gives you a meaningful edge.
- Play for a win with both colors - Gukesh plays to win regardless of color. At the 2024 Budapest Olympiad, he scored 9 out of 10 on Board 1 with a performance rating of 3056, leading India to its first-ever team gold. Adopt this mentality in your own games. Seek active positions, create threats, and put opponents under pressure.
- Let childhood inspiration drive you - In 2013, seven-year-old Gukesh watched the World Championship match between Anand and Carlsen from the stands in Chennai. He later said that moment became his defining motivation to bring the title back to India. Find your own source of inspiration - a game that amazed you, a player you admire, a position that made you think differently. That spark can sustain years of dedicated work.
The Role of Environment and Support
Behind Gukesh's rise was a support system that made enormous sacrifices. His parents prioritized his chess career, and he left formal schooling after Class IV to focus entirely on the game. His coach Vishnu Prasanna, who began working with him in 2017, noted that even at eleven, Gukesh would ask him not to reveal puzzle solutions until he had worked them out himself.
You do not need the same level of commitment to improve, but you do benefit from community. Join a chess club, find a study partner, or participate in online forums. Surround yourself with people who share your passion and push you to be better.
The chess ecosystem in India - particularly in Chennai and Tamil Nadu - has grown enormously, producing not just Gukesh but an entire generation of world-class players. No matter where you are, you can tap into that energy through the global online chess community.
Questions About Learning from Gukesh
How old was Gukesh when he became World Champion?
Gukesh became the eighteenth World Chess Champion on December 12, 2024, at the age of eighteen years and approximately six months. He defeated Ding Liren 7.5-6.5 in Singapore, shattering Garry Kasparov's 1985 record by more than four years.
Should beginners study Gukesh's games?
Gukesh's games can be instructive, especially when annotated. His decisive World Championship Game 14 is a powerful lesson about staying alert until the end. For beginners, choose annotated games with clear themes rather than highly theoretical battles.
Is the aggressive playing style suitable for beginners?
Absolutely. Beginners benefit from playing actively because it creates more tactical opportunities and learning moments. Passive play at the beginner level often leads to slow losses where nothing instructive happens.
What records does Gukesh hold?
Gukesh is the youngest undisputed World Chess Champion in history, the youngest player ever to reach a 2750 FIDE rating, and the youngest-ever Candidates Tournament winner. His peak rating of 2794 placed him as the world's third-ranked player.
Professor Archer says: You do not need to become the next Gukesh to benefit from his example. The principles that drove his rise - consistent study, fearless play, independent thinking, and learning from every loss - will improve your chess at any level. Start where you are, and keep going.
Quick Quiz
What unusual training approach did Gukesh's coach use during his development?
- He only allowed Gukesh to play blitz chess - Gukesh trained across all time controls. The unusual element was about engine usage, not time controls.
- He kept Gukesh away from chess engines until after he became a Grandmaster (Correct) - Correct. Coach GM Vishnu Prasanna deliberately avoided engine dependency during Gukesh's development, insisting he build independent understanding first. Gukesh did not start using engine analysis until after earning the GM title.
- He made Gukesh memorize every World Championship game in history - While studying classic games is valuable, Gukesh's training was notable for building independent thinking skills, not rote memorization.
- He forbade Gukesh from playing in tournaments until age 16 - Gukesh competed extensively from a young age. Tournament play was a crucial part of his development, not something that was restricted.