Newly crowned world chess king Gukesh Dommaraju said becoming a champion was a dream that was more than a decade in the making, as he underlined his ambition to strive for "greatness". Gukesh was just seven when he watched compatriot Viswanathan Anand lose the world chess title in November 2013 to challenger Magnus Carlsen of Norway -- a match that fired up his dream to bring the crown back to India. Eleven years later in Singapore on Thursday, the 18-year-old beat China's Ding Liren after a gruelling tournament of 14 match days to become the youngest undisputed world chess champion.
Speaking to reporters after the match, Gukesh cited the 2013 game as a defining episode for his success. "I was in the stands and I was looking inside the glass box (where the players were) and I thought it will be so cool to be inside one day," he said of the tournament in his hometown of Chennai. "When Magnus won, I thought I really want to be the one to bring back the title to India.
And this dream that I had more than 10 years ago has been the most important thing in my life so far," he added. "I've been dreaming about..
. living this moment for like more than 10 years." And this is just the beginning, Gukesh said, underlining his plan to be more than a one-hit wonder.
He wants to stay at the top "for the longest time possible", to ultimately attain Carlsen's eminence as the highest rated chess player in history. - 'Mental toughness' - The teenager said he felt the jitters in the opening game .
