D. Gukesh’s father, Rajinikanth, recently acknowledged the pivotal role an Indian Grandmaster played in shaping the teenage chess sensation’s career, and surprisingly, it wasn’t the legendary Viswanathan Anand. According to Rajinikanth, who has been a constant companion to Gukesh at tournaments and was present in Singapore when his son triumphed over China’s Ding Liren in the 2024 FIDE World Chess Championship, it was Harikrishna Pentala who significantly contributed to Gukesh’s rise as the youngest chess world champion.
Rajinikanth credited a “week of intense training” in 2022 under Harikrishna for being a turning point in Gukesh’s journey. Gukesh and Hari trained together for a week before Gukesh’s trajectory kept getting better. He clinched the Gijon Open, crossed the 2700 Elo mark in Biel, and delivered a stellar performance at the Chennai Olympiad in 2022, earning an individual gold medal and a team bronze,” Rajinikanth told ChessBase India.
Harikrishna, a 38-year-old Grandmaster from Andhra Pradesh, had achieved a peak Elo rating of 2770 and a world ranking of 10 in 2016. Rajinikanth shared that Harikrishna had been impressed with Gukesh’s skills after the teen surpassed an Elo rating of 2650, inviting him for a week-long training camp at his home. Gukesh’s development was significantly impacted by just one week at Hari’s house. Later, he also guided Gukesh during the Candidates Tournament and the World Championship match. I am deeply grateful for his support and mentorship,” Rajinikanth added.
Harikrishna has continued to make his mark, most recently as part of the Indian Open team, including Gukesh, that clinched gold at the 45th Chess Olympiad in September. Meanwhile, Gukesh achieved historic glory by defeating Ding 7.5-6.5 in a thrilling ‘Best of 14 Games’ series to break Garry Kasparov’s 39-year-old record, becoming the youngest chess world champion ever.
Apart from earning a cash prize of $1.3 million (₹11.45 crore), Gukesh was also felicitated by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, who awarded him an additional ₹5 crore during a grand event in Chennai upon his return.
