To the youth, Gukesh offered a simple message: “Keep enjoying chess. You will achieve your dream one day.” He praised his opponent Ding Liren, calling him a “real inspiration.” “What I learned from Ding is what an incredible fighter he is. True champions fight until the very end,” Gukesh added.

Viswanathan Anand shared an old photo of meeting D. Gukesh as a kid, celebrating his historic achievement of becoming the youngest World Chess Champion at 18 by defeating Ding Liren.

While D Gukesh became the toast of the nation and was flooded with praise after his victory over Ding Liren, there were those such as former world champion Vladimir Kramnik who criticised the quality of the contest in Singapore.