Garry Kasparov hails D Gukesh, defends Ding blunder

Russian chess legend Garry Kasparov lauded D Gukesh for becoming the youngest world champion, and said the triumph marks a phenomenal year for India. Combined with Olympiad dominance, chess has returned to its cradle and the era of Vishy’s children is truly upon us, said Kasparov.
“My congratulations to Gukesh on his victory today. He has summitted the highest peak of all: making his mother happy,” Kasparov wrote on X.

India’s five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand has spawned a chess culture in India and the country is reaping the rewards of the Grandmaster’s success as a bunch of youngsters, mostly in their teens, are making a mark in the chess world.
Kasparov acknowledged Anand’s contribution to Indian chess, saying, “Gukesh was well-prepared and the player who played the best won the match. His victory caps a phenomenal year for India. Combined with Olympiad dominance, chess has returned to its cradle and the era of ‘Vishy’s children’ is truly upon us!” Kasparov added, “India is a nation with an unlimited pool of human talent, combined with the freedom to explore and develop it.
The future is bright not only in chess. The summit has been reached and now the goal must be to raise it even higher for the next ascent. Congratulations again. Upward!”
The world champion from 1985 till 1993, Kasparov said, “Gukesh impressively surmounted every obstacle and opponent in his path, especially considering his age, and nothing more can be asked. My thoughts on the historical world championship lineage with Magnus (Carlsen) outside are known, but that is not the story today.”
On the 14-match world championship where the reigning champion Liren Ding made a series of blunders, Kasparov said, “The level of play was quite high, at least equal to the previous match. Ding showed great resistance. As for the blunders, which world championship, or world champion, was without them? I had my share, and recall the double blunder in Carlsen-Anand 2014, g6. Matches take a toll.”
Kasparov then talked about the coincidence of the date Dec 12 with his match against Anatoly Karpov.
“Just noticed a coincidence that 12/12 is the 40th anniversary of one of my world championship milestones, winning my first game against Karpov in our first match in 1984, game 32! First step in salvaging my dignity in that one.”