Watch: D Gukesh visits the famous Tirumala Temple before defending his World Chess Championship title

Gukesh visits the famous Tirumala temple NEW DELHI: Reigning world chess champion D Gukesh on Friday visited the famous Tirumala Sri Venkateswara Swamy temple in Andhra Pradesh to seek blessings ahead of his upcoming defense of the world chess title.The 20-year-old Indian grandmaster said his prayers as he prepares for a big challenge against Uzbekistan’s Javokhir Sindarov later this month.Gukesh’s visit comes just days after he visited Karoli Baba’s Neem Ashram a few days ago.The young chess champion is preparing to defend his title in the 14-match classical chess world championship, which is scheduled from November 24 to December 12 in Geneva, Switzerland.The upcoming match will be special as both Gukesh and Sindarov will be 20 years old at the start of the competition, making it the youngest World Championship battle in chess history.Watch:

Gukesh is trying to defend his historic title of world champion

Gukesh made history in December 2024 when he defeated China’s Ding Liren to become the youngest undisputed world chess champion at just 18 years, six months and 24 days.He also became only the second Indian after Viswanathan Anand to win the prestigious title.Since becoming a Grandmaster in January 2019 at the age of 12, Gukesh has achieved several milestones. In September 2023, he became the youngest player to cross the 2750 rating mark and India’s highest rated player.He also played an important role in India’s success at the Chess Olympiads, winning individual and team gold medals.

Everything you need to know about the World Cup match

The opening ceremony is scheduled to take place on November 22, with the first classical game scheduled for November 24 at the Fondation Martin Bodmer in Cologne, Geneva.The final classic game will be played on December 11, with a tiebreaker scheduled for December 12 if necessary.The championship will feature a maximum of 14 classic games and the first player to reach 7.5 points will be crowned the champion. If both players finish level 7-7, the title will be decided in tiebreaks.The total prize pool for the championship is $2.5 million. Each player will receive $200,000 for each game won, while the remaining prize money will be split equally between them.