Winning Chess Moves: Krustkalns vs. Gukesh D., 2019

In just seven days, Chinese Grandmaster Ding Liren will be defending his title of World Champion against the challenger GM Gukesh Dommaraju of India. The Indian superstar has made astonishing progress throughout his chess career; from earning a Grandmaster title at only 12 years of age to now challenging Ding Liren for the World Championship Match at 18. Gukesh D.’s meteoric rise is unlike anything the chess world has ever witnessed and is largely fueled by a talent level that is off the charts. Gukesh’s unique talent for chess combines nicely with a style that his father describes as being influenced by the play of Magnus Carlsen. However, Gukesh is definitely his own chess player with an imaginative approach and ability to create complex and double-edged positions that is both modern and reminiscent of another World Champion, Alexander Alekhine. Perhaps equally as important as Dommaraju Gukesh’s talent and style, is his maturity at the chessboard, which is not just impressive for his age, but also, an important personality trait that many recent World Chess Champions share.

To make the progress at the rate he did, Gukesh had to travel extensively to seek out the highest quality of competition. A 13 year old Gukesh D. traveled to the hometown of Mikhail Tal to participate in the 2019 Riga Tech Open. His first round victory there over FM Kristaps Krustkalns caught my eye then and, just a week before the World Championship Match, seems fitting to share now.