What Is Gukesh D’s Net Worth?
Gukesh D is an Indian chess grandmaster who has a net worth of $300,000. He won the 2024 Candidates tournament to become the first teenager to achieve such a feat. He’s also the youngest World Championship challenger and the world’s second-youngest Grandmaster.
He was born on May 29, 2006, in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, as Dommaraju Gukesh.
Chennai is also the birth place where former World Champion Viswanathan Anand grew up.
Dommaraju is from a Telugu-speaking family.
His mom, Padma, is a microbiologist, while his dad, Dr Rajnikanth, is a surgeon. However, Dr Rajnikanth had to give up his practice to help Dommaraju attend chess tournaments.
D Gukesh during the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit, on November 12, 2022 in New Delhi – @Getty
“In 2013, I enrolled him in a chess class, and he used to go for an hour on three days a week,” Dr Rajnikanth revealed in an interview.
“My parents sacrificed a lot, and hopefully, the sacrifices feel justified,” Dommaraju said recently. He added: “I hope to make them even more proud.”
Chess Career
In 2015, he won the Asian School Chess Championships — the Under-9 section.
Three years into his chess career, Dommaraju had a rating of 2236.
In 2017, Gukesh started to work with a new coach, the Indian GM Vishnu Prasanna. At the time, his ELO rating was at 2,300.
Prasanna suggested not to use chess engines until his ELO rating was 2500. “Our aim was to be very precise with calculations and to develop intuition,” Vishnu Prasanna explained.
Dommaraju Gukesh seen playing at the fifth edition of the Tata Steel Chess India tournament 2023 at Bhasa Bhavan – @Getty
“We had early successes, and I felt that he was not an average kid for sure,” Prasanna told Chees.com in August 2022.
In 2018, Dommaraju won the U-12 section of the World Youth Chess Championship.
In March 2018, he scored his first International Master norm.
In July 2018, he earned his first GM norm at the Bangkok Open.
The 2nd Youngest Chess Grandmaster In History
In early 2019, Dommaraju got his final GM norm at the Delhi GM and became a chess grandmaster at the age of 12 years, 7 months and 17 days. Gukesh is the 60th GM from India.
Only Sergey Karjakin became a GM faster than Gukesh.
In the summer of 2022, Dommaraju becomes the 3rd-youngest player to cross the 2700 ELO rating and the 6th Indian.
In September 2022, his rating was of 2726.
In July 2023, he became the youngest player to cross the 2750 rating. Magnus Carlsen was the previous record-holder for youngest 2750.
In September 2023, Gukesh reached a FIDE rating of 2758 — the highest from India.
2024 FIDE Candidates Tournament
In April 2024, he won the FIDE Candidates Tournament — a chess tournament where the winner can participate in the World Chess Championship.
Dommaraju is the 2nd Indian after the Viswanathan Anand to win the Candidates Tournament. Anand was the first GM from India in 1988. “I’m personally very proud of how you played and handled tough situations,” Viswanathan wrote on X.
With this win, Gukesh became the youngest player (17 years old) in history to win a Candidates Tournament. Garry Kasparov is the previous youngest winner. Kasparov won it at age 20, in 1984.
He accumulated nine out of a possible 14 points. In the final round, Dommaraju played a draw against Hikaru.
“I didn’t expect him to do this well at the Candidates,” Magnus Carlsen said on the Norwegian podcast Sjakksnakk.
Dommaraju said after the match — “I am feeling quite good, but the journey is only halfway through.”
“His outstanding performance and journey to the top inspires millions,” India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote on X.
Gukesh will play against China’s Ding Liren — the reigning world champion, and it will be the first-ever world championship in history to not include a European player.
Wife/Girlfriend
Gukesh D is not married. Also, Dommaraju is currently single.
When asked in 2023 about the matter and whether having a girlfriend will negatively impact his chess performance, Gukesh said — “probably this takes some time away from [chess]. I haven’t really thought about it too much.”
One viewer commented on YouTube that Gukesh played “Girlfriend Gambit declined.”
Net Worth
So, how much is Gukesh D worth? Dommaraju earned most of his wealth from the chess tournaments he participated in and from sponsors. Therefore, Gukesh D has an estimated net worth of $300,000.
In 2022, Dommaraju inked with FairPlay Sports — a sports consultancy and agency that handles public image for athletes.
He also signed a sponsorship agreement with WestBridge Capital for 5 years.
By winning the 2024 Candidates Chess tournament, Dommaraju received $120,000.
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I am Bulgarea Candin Stefan, and I founded FamousPeopleToday.com in 2018. I’m using my bachelor’s degree in economics and 9 years of experience in blogging to guide millions of people through the incredibly complex world of celebrity net worths.