Gukesh Dommaraju’s remarkable victory at the World Chess Championship on Thursday has created buzz not only in the world of chess but has also ignited a heated debate between Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. At just 18 years of age, Gukesh became the youngest-ever World Chess Champion, and with his triumph came a battle between these two southern states, each vying to claim him as their own.
Youngest Ever World Chess Champion
Gukesh’s victory is a record-breaking moment in chess history. He has cemented his place in the records as the youngest player to ever hold the title of undisputed World Chess Champion. Gukesh’s victory reignited national pride and even sparked debates about where he belonged between the two rival states.
Tamil Nadu Claims Gukesh as Its Own
The first political statement comes from Tamil Nadu’s Chief Minister MK Stalin. At 7:25 PM on Thursday, Stalin took to X (formerly Twitter) and congratulated Gukesh, and underlined Chennai as the “global Chess Capital.”
“Congratulations to Gukesh on becoming the youngest-ever World Chess Champion at 18! Your remarkable achievement continues India’s rich chess legacy and helps Chennai reaffirm its place as the global Chess Capital by producing yet another world-class champion. Tamil Nadu is proud of you.”
Congratulations to @DGukesh on becoming the youngest-ever World Chess Champion at 18!
— M.K.Stalin (@mkstalin) December 12, 2024
Your remarkable achievement continues India's rich chess legacy and helps Chennai reaffirm its place as the global Chess Capital by producing yet another world-class champion.
Tamil Nadu is… pic.twitter.com/pQvyyRcmA1
Along with this, he has also released a picture where Stalin can be seen around the neck of Gukesh with a gold medal emphasizing that the state was proud and also took care to boost chess talent.
Andhra Pradesh Steals the Glittering Spotlight
Not much time has passed since MK Stalin’s congratulatory tweet, and the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, N Chandrababu Naidu, also tweeted his congratulations. However, Naidu did it a little differently, emphasizing Gukesh’s Telugu roots and claiming him as “our very own Telugu boy.”
The response was: “Hailing hearty congratulations to our own boy from Telugu and young chess sensation Indian Grandmaster Gukesh for penning a historic script in Singapore becoming the world’s chessiest champion at the ripe of 18! Let your entire nation celebrate winning this great achievement, sending you all the way well wishes for many triumphs with glorious accolades in all good future years ahead.
Hearty congratulations to our very own Telugu boy, Indian Grandmaster @DGukesh, on scripting history in Singapore by becoming the world's youngest chess champion at just 18! The entire nation celebrates your incredible achievement. Wishing you many more triumphs and accolades in… pic.twitter.com/TTAzV9CRbX
— N Chandrababu Naidu (@ncbn) December 12, 2024
Tamil Nadu vs Andhra Pradesh
The central point of the argument revolves around Gukesh’s roots and family heritage. Even though Gukesh was born and brought up in Chennai, his familial ties with Andhra Pradesh-the medical professional parents having strong Telugu heritage- have added fire to this rivalry.
The debate started rising online
The controversy has spilled onto social media with X (formerly Twitter), where people argue on a mix of pride, ethnicity, and historical context related to Gukesh’s dual identity claims.
People on social media mentioned how Tamil Nadu was financing Gukesh. It is known that the state had gifted ₹75 lakh to him in April as part of encouragement for the journey.
On the other hand, others have taken to proving Gukesh’s Telugu identity and roots to support their argument.
The situation has now expanded into a much larger debate, with cultural, historical, and linguistic factors from both states fueling the discussion.
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